The wireless industry is gearing up to fight new Net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission is formulating to keep the Internet open, notes C/Net. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, in his speech (pdf) on Monday, proposed a set of rules for “Net Neutrality“, with the hope of later issuing a more formal “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (NPRM) that will be open to public comment.
Reactions from interest groups varied, and even the reaction from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and Comcast was mixed:
- AT&T says: “We are concerned, however, that the FCC appears ready to extend the entire array of net neutrality requirements to what is perhaps the most competitive consumer market in America, wireless services…”
- Verizon says “Our concern is that these new regulations, which apply regulation to the Internet for the first time, could have unintended consequences…”
- Sprint says: “Sprint Nextel agrees with Chairman Genachowski that consumers are well served by an open Internet. Put simply, Sprint wants customers to be able access the applications and the Internet sites they want, when they want to”.
- Comcast says: “Before we rush into a new regulatory environment for the Internet, let’s remember there can be no doubt that the Internet has enjoyed immense growth even as these debates have gone on…” But Comcast VP David Cohen, noted in a blog post, that the company “completely agrees that any consideration of new ‘rules of the road’ begin with notice and an open, public rulemaking proceeding — this is both fair and appropriate.”
- The CTIA says: “We are concerned about the unintended consequences Internet regulation would have on consumers…”
Genachowski wants the FCC to formally adopt six principles, four of which have been employed by the FCC on a case-by-case basis since 2005.
- Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.
- Consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.
- Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.
- Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.
The two additions:
- Broadband providers cannot block or degrade lawful traffic over their networks, favor certain content or applications over others and cannot “disfavor an Internet service just because it competes with a similar service offered by that broadband provider.”
- Broadband providers must be transparent about the service they are providing and how they are running their networks.
Republican opposition has been swift:
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas ), ranking member on the Senate Commerce Science, and Transportation Committee, introduced an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill that would prohibit the FCC from expending funds to develop and implement new regulatory mandates. The amendment is co-sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)..
“I am deeply concerned by the direction the FCC appears to be heading,” Hutchison said in a statement. “We must tread lightly when it comes to new regulations. The case has simply not been made for what amounts to a significant regulatory intervention into a vibrant marketplace. These new regulatory mandates and restrictions could stifle investment incentives.”
The principle of net neutrality has been embraced for years by many Internet advocates including Google, Microsoft, and other companies that have an interest in delivering content to consumers.
They fear being effectively shut out by carriers offering a competitive service.
The FCC has launched a new Website called OpenInternet.gov, where you can submit comments, view Genachowski’s speech, and connect with the FCC through social networks and new media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The U.S. is leading the global mobile data boom says Chetan Sharma, of GigaOm. China and India may be well on their way to dominating the voice world with billions of users, but when it comes to mobile data, U.S. companies are leading the charge.
The U.S. is now is the largest mobile data market, ahead of Japan and China. Verizon’s data revenues are close to $4 billion, just shy of NTT DoCoMo’s. 3G penetration in the U.S. was around 40 percent during the second quarter of 2009.
With a substantially larger population, the US will overtake Japan for 3G subscribers in 2011. At that point the US 3G market will still be growing strongly, but within three years it too will lose first place as China inevitably overtakes it.
