We Will Miss You Net Neutrality
April 7, 2010 5 Comments
by Elias Shams
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday in favor of Comcast, saying that the FCC had not been granted the power by Congress to regulate the broadband networks in such a manner. So much for “net neutrality”.
The court ruling, which came after Comcast asserted that it had the right to slow its cable customers’ access to a file-sharing service called BitTorrent, could prompt efforts in Congress to change the law in order to give the FCC explicit authority to regulate Internet service.
Large media and Internet companies have been supportive of “net neutrality,” but broadband networks have argued that they should be able to control the speeds and content that flow through their networks. Most likely, the court’s ruling could potentially affect content providers like Google, which owns YouTube. Content providers fear that Internet service companies like Comcast will ask them to pay a fee to ensure delivery of material like high-definition video that takes up a lot of network capacity.
I am pretty much sure the decision will also affect certain parts of the FCC’s recently announced National Broadband Plan I covered last month. For example, the Plan proposes to shift billions of dollars in money from a fund to provide phone service in rural areas to one that helps pay for Internet access in those areas. Well, the court decision suggested that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to make that switch.
The court decision is a major setback to efforts by the Federal Communication Commission to require companies to give Web users equal access to all content, even if some of that content is clogging the network. Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the FCC who was appointed by President Obama and formerly worked as a local venture capitalist, has pledged to force broadband companies to treat all content passing through their networks on an equal basis.
From various sources, it looks like Comcast spent $3.5 million on lobbying for this during Q4.
About Elias Shams
Elias Shams
Kamran Abdi
Tatiana Sorabi
I guess Google will have to get cracking on its fibre network then. Maybe we will have different connections to our houses and businesses in the future.
“Hey Honey, can you plug in the Apple connection, I want to get a movie from iTunes”
We still have a long way to go before we start using google’s 100 meg connection. Till then, it will be intersting to see how comcast and other broadband providers will abuse the ruling
The gist is that the providers are essentially pipes delivering whatever content we want, when we want it. If they can decide what content gets delivered at what speed, they are no longer neutral.
Well, that is why I called the title ”
We Will Miss You Net Neutrality”
Not yet! visit this website: freepress.net
It is a non-for-profit media activism organization specializing in Net Neutrality. According to legal council from this organization, the FCC has the capability to “reclassify” Internet back into its jurisdiction via a piece of legislation passed in 2002. BUT ONLY IF WE, THE PEOPLE, ASK FOR IT!