|
 FCC officials earlier this month listed a hybrid approach as one of
various options they were considering for new "net neutrality"
rules. It would split broadband into a retail service, connecting
Internet service providers with consumers, and a back-end one,
linking content companies' servers with ISPs' facilities.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is now laying the groundwork for rules that
would regulate the retail section more lightly under the agency's
existing authority but apply stricter rules to the back end by
classifying it more like a public utility, the Wall Street Journal
reported. It cited people familiar with Wheeler's thinking.
The plan, which would have to win over at least two other FCC
commissioners to be adopted, is unlikely to satisfy either the ISPs
or the public interest community.
Stricter back-end regulation through reclassification of broadband
more like an old telephone network is something long sought by some
consumer advocates but strongly opposed by the ISPs, which would
probably fight such a decision in court.
However, the Journal report said Wheeler remained skeptical of a
flat-out ban on deals in which content companies' would pay ISPs to
ensure smooth and fast delivery of their traffic.
Consumer advocates have opposed such "paid prioritization"
arrangements. The FCC received a record 3.9 million comments after
Wheeler proposed net neutrality rules that would allow some
"commercially reasonable" paid prioritization.
"Such an untested, too-clever-by-half approach is bad law and a bad
idea," Free Press Chief Executive Officer Craig Aaron said in a
statement.
"No matter how you dress it up, any rules that don’t clearly restore
the agency's authority and prevent specialized fast lanes and paid
prioritization aren’t real Net Neutrality."
California Representative Doris Matsui, a Democrat, also reiterated
on Friday that any net neutrality proposal allowing paid
prioritization was "a non-starter."
[to top of second column] |
A U.S. appeals court in January struck down the previous net
neutrality rules, which allowed "commercially reasonable"
discrimination of traffic but indicated the FCC would disapprove of
potential pay-for-priority deals.
Similar hybrid approaches were presented to the FCC earlier this
year by Mozilla Foundation and the Center for Democracy and
Technology, among others.
Wheeler has said all reclassification options, including Mozilla's
and CDT's proposals, were "under serious consideration," FCC
spokeswoman Kim Hart said in a statement.
MoffettNathanson LLC analyst Craig Moffett said the market was
likely to welcome a "grand bargain" approach.
"It neatly sidesteps the worst-case scenarios, and while
interconnection regulation is certainly not good news for operators,
neither is it a calamity," he said.
"Perhaps the most important question left to be answered is how the
two sides of the aisle respond to today's very consciously floated
trial balloon."
(Reporting by Alina Selyukh)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
