As discussed in the class this
week, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering a Hybrid Approach
to Net Neutrality. The chairman and staff of the FCC are moving towards a
proposal that would give the government agency regulatory authority over how
the Internet traffic flows. The FCC will have a say in the Internet traffic flow
between content providers and the companies that provide Internet service to
consumers. The head of the FCC, Tom Wheeler is said to be laying the groundwork
for this regulatory measure.
Net Neutrality is the principle
that all the Internet traffic should be treated equally. FCC’s new plan won’t
satisfy all the proponents of “net neutrality” as it would still allow
broadband providers to cut deals with content companies for special access to
customers. Unlike policies previously considered, which treated the entire
Internet ecosystem as a single universe, the hybrid proposal would establish a
divide between “wholesale” and “retail” transactions. The wholesale portion will
cover the data exchange from the content providers like Netflix, Hulu etc. to
the Internet Service Providers like Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast
etc. The retail portion will cover the data flow from the Internet Service
Providers to the end consumers and allow them to stream any legal content on
the web. The Hybrid rule is supposedly expected to affect mostly the wholesale
portion. The retail portion is expected to receive only a few guidelines from
the regulators.
The motivation for the FCC behind
this new Hybrid Proposal is to set up a net neutrality framework that will hold
up in courts unlike the previous attempts made the regulatory authority. If and
when this plan gets formally finalized and is put into effect, FCC expects the
Internet service providers to fight this ruling in court. Companies like
Verizon have already came out in opposition after the details were leaked in
media. AT&T took to twitter to express its displeasure against the upcoming
ruling. It tweeted through its official twitter feed “any use of Title II would
be problematic.” This entire regulatory action should have the maximum impact
on the Internet Service Providers. Content providers and consumers are supposed
to be affected in only a mild manner by direct effect of this regulation.
Indirectly consumers might see an increase in their Internet bills if this
motion gets approved and is passed as a law.
By splitting net neutrality into
wholesale and retail, the FCC wants to avoid putting consumer Internet service
under a burdensome utility like regulatory regime. Critics of such an approach
say it would discourage investment and slow the type of technological advances
that have fueled the growth of online systems. FCC plans on leveraging the Title
II of the Communications Act of 1934 to validate stricter regulation on the
wholesale portion. As far as the retail portion is concerned, FCC plans on
using Section 706 of Telecommunications Act of 1996 which will provide FCC with
broad powers to ensure that broadband capabilities are being deployed to all
Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.
For the purpose of agreeing to
transport content from a company like Netflix through its network, an I.S.P.
would be treated as a “common carrier,” subject to stricter regulation. In that
instance, an I.S.P., as a common carrier, could not give an unfair advantage to
one content provider over another. One of the major downside of this policy is
continued existence of the Paid prioritization or fast lane. Paid
prioritization, where a content provider pays for a fast lane to consumers,
would be restricted unless it could be proved to be just and reasonable. Small
companies are a major loss if the fast lane policy is not regulated with a high
scrutiny by the FCC. Individual users and open source community have taken to
social media like Twitter, Reddit etc. to voice their side of the story. They
all agree that the ruling is a step in a positive direction by the FCC but they
would like to receive more clarification on Title II laws and the application
of prioritization. The entire ruling when seen as a whole should allow the FCC
to enforce a rule against blocking of legal Internet content, to install
restrictions on discrimination among Internet traffic and still provide some
allowance for unique delivery arrangements for specialized services.
Sources:
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