5:16 PM
Divided FCC adopts Internet rules
Addison Ray
By Jasmin Melvin
WASHINGTON | Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:09pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided Federal Communications Commission banned Internet service providers like Comcast Corp from blocking traffic on their networks, provoking warnings the rules would be rejected in the courts and threats from Republican lawmakers to overturn them.
The 3-2 decision on Tuesday highlighted a huge divide between those who say the Internet should flourish without regulation and those who say the power of high-speed Internet providers to discriminate against competitors needs to be restrained.
But the FCC did allow Internet providers like Comcast, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc to "reasonably" manage their networks and to charge consumers based on levels of Internet usage.
Wireless carriers like Sprint Nextel Corp, and Deutsche Telekom AG T-Mobile would get slightly more discretion to manage their networks but could not block access to websites, nor access to competing voice and video applications.
The FCC is also requiring broadband Internet providers to publicly disclose their network management policies.
The rules are expected to go into effect early next year but FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said consumers should expect few changes.
"In many respects, this is about preserving the freedom and openness of the Internet that has worked for many years," he told reporters after the FCC met in an open meeting.
LEGAL HURDLES
Experts say legal challenges could tie the rules up for years. "A definitive judicial resolution is still 3-5 years down the road," predicted Michael Botein, professor of law and director of the media law center at New York Law School.
Nomura Equity Research analyst Michael McCormack said there was a high probability the rules would be softened or nullified by either the courts or Congress.
Approved by Genachowski and fellow Democrats Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn, the rules were quickly condemned by Republicans and many companies as excessive and unnecessary.
"Litigation will supplant innovation. Instead of investing in tomorrow's technologies, precious capital will be diverted to pay lawyers' fees," FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell warned.
McDowell and Republican colleague Meredith Attwell Baker voted against the rules, and predicted they would be overturned in court.
But Copps said he wished the FCC had taken stronger action, saying previous communications technologies had fallen victim to consolidated control, a reference to the AT&T telephone monopoly, later broken up in an antitrust lawsuit.
"In years to come, I hope we can look back on this day as an important turning point in the struggle to ensure the continued openness of the Internet against powerful gatekeeper control," said Copps.
Posts
