The FCC is looking to propose strong net neutrality rules for both broadband and wireless communications in the United States. ISPs will be classed as Title II carriers and all will be right with the world.
At least that’s the gist of the commission’s proposal which was leaked by the Wall Street Journal. FCC head, Tom Wheeler, is expected to circulate the proposed rules ahead of a February 26th vote on the issue.
If passed, the new rules represent a stunning reversal of the FCC’s position and, many would argue, the right thing to do. Not long ago, Wheeler, alongside the whole FCC seemed to be in favor of paid prioritization or so-called “fast lanes” which would destroy net neutrality and allow rich companies to control traffic online.
What’s striking is that the FCC is also looking into enshrining net neutrality in the mobile internet market, an aspect that was deliberately left out of previous versions of the rules. And the commission is even looking to get a handle on paid peering arrangements: business deals between ISPs and companies that allow for better speeds for customers, but of which Netflix decried as “extortion”.
Make no mistake, the internet service free market was neither free nor an actual market in the United States. If these new rules, which are expected to garner intense opposition from telecom lobbyists and corrupt politicians, do pass they’ll finally set the stage for the United States to push the internet and the web to its full potential.
Source: Wall Street Journal | Image via NYDailyNews
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