Net Neutrality Bill Has FCC Worried about Cable Internet Providers

In 2002, FCC Chairman Michael Powell and his fellow commissioners ruled that cable companies had the jurisdiction to close their lines to competing broadband providers. Since this historical ruling, Internet experts and high speed ISPs have been battling about net neutrality, and exactly who should be allowed to decide what online content is accessible by which providers.

The appeal of the Internet lies in freely accessible content available to anyone with a connection, so, for the sake of competition and customer satisfaction, it is highly unlikely that any major broadband providers would choose to close off content to their customers. The fact remains, however, that there is no legislation in place that actively prevents ISPs from cutting off communication between their customers and those subscribing to other ISP services in an anti-competitive campaign.  In addition, new laws are being enacted that may encourage the abolition of net neutrality.

Net Neutrality and Cable Broadband Internet Providers

Net neutrality refers to the fact that broadband Internet providers in the United States are all open-system, and each provider delivers the same online content to everyone on their network. The FCC supports this behavior with its statement of principle, which espouses the benefits of an open system and condemns “closed gardens” of online content available to a set list of providers.

Legally, however, broadband providers may choose to keep their customers from accessing content from other providers, or may even block communications from a customer using one service to a different provider’s customer. Although actual instances of confirmed anti-competitive behavior are few and far between, they do exist. In March of 2005 the FCC fined a small, North Carolina VoIP carrier for blocking all incoming calls from a competitive VoIP provider; a telecommunications policy that could be disastrous if enacted by larger providers.

New Telecom Bill May Discourage Continued Net Neutrality

Unfortunately, a new telecom reform bill passing through the house may abolish what little administrative jurisdiction the FCC already has in ensuring net neutrality from large broadband Internet providers. This legislation allows larger network operators to discriminate against content providers by charging different rates dependent on bandwidth use, which consumer advocacy groups fear can be twisted into an attempt to “cable-ize” the Internet.

Under the legislation, telephone companies such as Verizon and AT&T will be allowed to purchase a single, franchised television license to expedite the roll out of Internet protocol television, or IPTV. Once pay television is established in a competitive market, cable companies will become eligible to apply for a national franchise license as well. This national franchise license, and ability to charge based on bandwidth, will put the control of the nature of the Internet into the hands of the larger cable companies while limiting the administrative jurisdiction of the FCC.