The Internet To Be Classified As A Utility: A Genuine Victory For Democracy

Get Up To Speed On Net Neutrality With This Hilarious Video Introduction
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/02/get-up-to-speed-on-net-neutrality-with.html

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wants to "reclassify" the Internet as a utility, subjecting it to stricter oversight, with a few exceptions. "Under the new regime, broadband providers would be explicitly banned from blocking content or creating fast lanes for Web services that can pay for preferential treatment into American homes. ... The FCC is expected to vote on Wheeler's proposed rules on Feb. 26. The draft rules seek to impose a modified version of Title II, which was originally written to regulate telephone companies. It will waive a number of provisions, including parts of the law that empower the FCC to set retail prices — something Internet providers fear above all. However, contrary to many people's expectations, the draft rules will also keep other parts of Title II that allow the FCC to: enforce consumer privacy rules; extract funds from Internet providers to help subsidize services for rural Americans, educators and the poor; and make sure services such as Google Fiber can build new broadband pipes more easily, according to people familiar with the plan." Brian Fung in The Washington Post.

Wheeler's proposal uses the law that created Ma Bell, after all. "In an acrobatic feat of Orwellian logic, Mr. Wheeler even implies that telephone-style regulation must come to the Net to prevent problems that existed in the old telephone network, such as the difficulty faced by entrepreneurs trying to deploy new communications devices. But unlike in the days of the old Ma Bell telephone monopoly, new devices and services are multiplying today. ... Even if the FCC forbears from most of the ancient rules, the Chairman’s plan explicitly gives the commission authority to decide which business terms are 'just and reasonable' and which practices are 'unjust and unreasonable.' The FCC chairman will then become the Frank Underwood of the Web." The Wall Street Journal.

Here is Wheeler's column, where he talks about net neutrality and the free market. "To preserve incentives for broadband operators to invest in their networks, my proposal will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks. For example, there will be no rate regulation, no tariffs, no last-mile unbundling. Over the last 21 years, the wireless industry has invested almost $300 billion under similar rules, proving that modernized Title II regulation can encourage investment and competition." Wired.

His proposal looks almost like a victory for democracy. "This is a staggering turn. When I last wrote about the topic in mid-May, it seemed the FCC would permit a limited fast and slow lane scheme. Then the winds began to shift. In June, John Oliver exhorted his viewers to write to the FCC in defense of net neutrality, and they did so in droves, crashing the agency's servers. By the fall, more than 4 million people had submitted public comments on the topic, overwhelmingly in support of stronger rules to protect net neutrality." Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic.

The rules would have given Netflix a stronger hand in negotiating with Comcast. "You may remember that Netflix and Comcast struck a controversial deal last year that has Netflix paying to connect directly with Comcast. The FCC's draft net neutrality rule allows any company that feels like it's been unfairly treated in the middle mile (e.g., Netflix) to file a complaint and have the agency examine what's going on. In responding to the proposal Wednesday, Netflix said: 'If such an oversight process had been in place last year, we certainly would've used it when a handful of ISPs opted to hold our members hostage until we paid up.' And while Netflix says it isn't looking to go back and have those deals reversed, it's hard not to imagine the streaming video company someday filing a complaint if another Internet provider tries to strike a similar deal with it."Brian Fung in The Washington Post.

The cable industry is not pleased, nor are Republicans. "Michael Powell, who heads the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. trade group, said Wheeler's proposal would 'result in a backward-looking new regulatory regime, ill-suited for the dynamic Internet, with far-reaching and troubling consequences.' ... Key congressional Republicans strongly opposed Wheeler's move and criticized Obama for meddling with an independent agency. They have proposed legislation that would prohibit broadband providers from blocking websites, slowing connection speeds and charging companies for faster delivery of their content — but without utility-like regulation." Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times.

They think these net neutrality rules would discourage investment. (Alan: The curtailment/elminination of Net Neutrality is designed to maximize profit more than encourage investment. There has always been -- and will continue to be -- ample investment and ample profit in what amounts to a "public trust." http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/02/get-up-to-speed-on-net-neutrality-with.html) "Broadband providers have supported bans on blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, but they strenuously oppose being reclassified and subjected to the encyclopedic rules of Title II of the Communications Act. Such a shift would cause investors to flee, which would stymie the deployment of more advanced and ubiquitous high-speed networks, they argue. Ideally, Congress would give the FCC new authority to write rules tailored to net neutrality. Instead, however, leading Republicans in the House and Senate want to place a few basic restrictions on ISPs and forbid the FCC to go further. Until lawmakers come up with something realistic, Wheeler is pursuing the best approach available, which is to apply Title II to ISPs while exempting them from onerous and irrelevant provisions." The Los Angeles Times.

The proposal reveals a shift in Wheeler's thinking. "Wheeler has now chosen a legal strategy that he saw as too radical just nine months ago. His original network neutrality proposal, which he released last May, tried to protect network neutrality, the idea that all internet content should be treated equally, without treating internet access as a public utility. Critics argued that these rules were too weak, leaving a big loophole that would allow broadband providers to engage in exactly the kind of discriminatory behavior that network neutrality rules are supposed to prevent. ... They gained an important ally in November when President Barack Obama endorsed reclassification." Timothy B. Lee at Vox.