14 DAY TRIAL // With as much noise as it’s been made around the Net neutrality issue, the FCC seems to want to keep everyone on pins and needles.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FCC may very well wait until 2015 to offer up its new guidelines, the very same that have been allegedly leaked just recently, presenting a hybrid solution that has made quite a few people unhappy with the Commission.
The measure is meant to ensure that the new plans are defensible in court and that people understand them, FCC officials said. This is tied directly to the fact that numerous law professors have warned the FCC that the proposal would not hold in court.
Tom Wheeler, the FCC boss, wanted to propose the new rules by the end of the year, but the pressure from the Net neutrality advocates and from the service providers is taking a toll on the decision makers. The plans should be completed by December 11, when the FCC has its last open meeting, but it looks like the Commission’s lawyers are asking for more time, especially considering that there are other cases on the schedule too, including the Comcast – Time Warner merger.
Net neutrality, something to preserve
As you may know by now, Net neutrality is the principle that dictates that Internet Service Providers, as well as governments from all over the world, need to treat all Internet traffic the same. This means that they shouldn’t block or slow down traffic towards sites they don’t like because of the content or the fact that they’re traffic hogs.
The FCC has been trying to impose such rules for a while now, but Verizon sued them, leading to the FCC losing the case early this year, which said that the Commission doesn’t have the legal power to impose such rules.
Wheeler came up with a plan that involved allowing the ISPs to create fast lanes for various companies with deep-enough pockets to pay for such a privilege. Of course, since there would be no technical upgrade of the networks, there’s no real fast lane, just the regular speed network and the slowed down lane for all non-paying sites.
Following heavy protests and a record number of people asking the FCC to put a stop to these plans which defy the very nature of net neutrality, the Commission agreed to look at the plans again.
The latest plan that has leaked to the media is a hybrid one that would still allow for fast lanes, but the FCC would get the final say in what deals are being made. These would be a part of the back end, the only business area that the FCC wants to regulate in any manner, since the relationship between ISPs and consumers would only get lightly supervised.
