The Battle for the Internet

“Net Neutrality” is a term few have heard about but it means everything for the Internet. The proponents of Net Neutrality believe that the Internet is a
”common carrier” similar to networks that serve the public such as roads, highways, electric grids and telephone lines that cannot discriminate in allowing access.
Broadband carriers oppose Net Neutrality, arguing that the money they have invested in the network allows them to sell premium services and manage traffic. This would allow them to both allocate and restrict bandwidth.

The Bush administration opened to door to killing Net Neutrality under pressure from the phone and companies by having the FCC reclassify broadband as an “information service” instead of a “communication service” which theoretically took it out of the purvey of the FCC. All the carriers needed was a court case in a business friendly court. Comcast. The largest cable company in America precipitated one by banning BitTorrents, a file sharing network. The FCC Chairman then ruled against them precipitating the lawsuit.

A Federal District Court ruled in favor of Comcast today. This gives these companies the right to control the content they carry. This could allow Google, with its financial resources to secure x amount of bandwidth thereby restricting bandwidth for other content providers. It can also allow carriers to bar content they might deem objectionable no matter what the subject matter.

The FCC would have virtually no power to make policies to bring broadband to rural America, to promote competition, to protect consumer privacy or truth in billing. Bottom line: the agency has no power to enact the much-discussed National Broadband Plan, released just last month. There is a solution. The FCC Chairman can reclassify the Internet as a “communication service”. Enormous political pressure will be brought from all sides. The question is will the Obama administration and the FCC Chairman have the will to do the right thing and withstand the pressure.