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 Aiming to set "net neutrality" rules that guide how Internet service
providers manage traffic on their networks, the FCC will vote Feb.
26 on whether to impose tighter regulations by classifying them more
like traditional telephone companies.
That would put Google's high-speed Internet service, Google Fiber,
under direct regulatory oversight – a significant change for the
world's biggest Internet search company, which has built its $66
billion-a-year business for the most part in the unregulated and
fast-changing web market.
To be sure, Google, which is among the top-10 biggest spenders on
lobbying in Washington, is familiar with regulatory compliance, but
one potential area of friction could be the Google Fiber
neighborhood sign-up process.
Google has rolled out Fiber, which offers super-fast 1
gigabit-per-second speeds and a TV service, in Kansas City and plans
to expand to other cities including Austin, Atlanta and Nashville,
competing with companies such as AT&T Inc and Comcast Corp.
Google undertakes the costly process of tearing up streets and
installing equipment only after enough residents in specific
neighborhoods, or "fiberhoods," sign up. That allows Google to be
economically efficient, but the practice might run afoul of common
carrier regulations intended to guarantee equal access to basic
utilities, some analysts say.
Under the proposed rules, revealed on Wednesday, Internet providers
would be exempt from the most onerous common carrier provisions such
as price regulations, but experts said the FCC could still go after
companies, including Google, for not offering the same level of
service across the country.
"That is the traditional role the commission has played, in ensuring
that all Americans have access to telecommunication services," said
Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge policy group.
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Google had supported strong net neutrality rules, though it has not
directly backed reclassification of Internet providers. In a
December FCC filing, Google noted it could actually benefit from
such an approach by getting easier access to poles and other
infrastructure owned by incumbent broadband providers.
In a statement, Google said that new rules the FCC is weighing have
not affected its decision to invest in Fiber.
U.S. regulators currently oversee some other elements of Google's
vast business, such as Google Voice, its privacy practices and
wireless experiments.
Some experts say any oversight of Google Fiber, which many analysts
do not believe currently generates material revenue for the company,
would be unlikely to significantly cramp Google’s style.
"They should probably be pretty well-versed in how to deal with
regulatory agencies at this point,” said Needham & Co analyst Kerry
Rice.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco and Alina Selyukh in
Washington; Editing by Ken Wills)
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