Won't cover wireless services

Aug 10, 2010 07:36 GMT  ·  By

The details on the Google - Verizon deal that surfaced last week have finally been revealed. The two companies have indeed been working on an agreement concerning ‘net neutrality.’ And now that they’ve revealed what it’s all about, it’s not much clearer what it would mean for internet users in the US, if anything.

“Today our CEOs will announce a proposal that we hope will make a constructive contribution to the dialogue. Our joint proposal takes the form of a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

One issue the agreement is provided as a proposed legal framework for the FCC’s consideration. Meaning that it has no legal binding, the FCC must review it and only if it accepts it and applies will it carry any obligation for ISPs. But the FCC’s power to regulate internet connections has come into question after a court ruling which basically said it had no authority over the matter. The framework proposed by Google and Verizon would grant the FCC power over the matter.

“[B]oth companies have long been proponents of the FCC’s current wireline broadband openness principles, which ensure that consumers have access to all legal content on the Internet, and can use what applications, services, and devices they choose,” the statement added. Under the proposed rules, ISPs would not be able to discriminate or prioritize any internet traffic and will not be allowed to be paid to favor a certain service or website. Importantly, this only relates to ‘wired’ broadband connections.

Another important proposal is “transparency,” all ISPs, offering both wired and wireless connections, would be obligated to disclose any limitations on their services and explain those limitations and capabilities in plain language. Finally, perhaps the most important part of this proposal, is that it won’t cover wireless services. The two companies say that the market is too small and too new to be regulated.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions but, on paper, the proposal actually looks solid. It would create enforceable net neutrality rules, something that Google and the tech community have been fighting for. These would not apply to wireless connections, which are becoming increasingly popular, but it’s still better than nothing. And, equally important, it would force providers to be transparent in their practices, allowing consumers to make an informed choice. But without the FCC's support, the proposal is worthless so it should be interesting to see how the agency reacts.