•• •Obama
was a strong supporter of network
neutrality during the presidential
campaign, helping to draw online
support.
•The
FCC's four guiding Internet principles
since 2005 assure that Internet users can
access any legal content, application or
service and allow them to attach any
device to the Internet as long as it
doesn't harm the network.
113.09iiiFCCRulesforNeutral.htm
•
02.
/ About the New Chairman / Julius
Genachowski
•• •Julius
Genachowski was nominated by President
Barack Obama to a seat on the Federal
Communications Commission on March 23,
2009. He was unanimously confirmed by the
United States Senate on June 25, 2009, and
sworn in as FCC Commissioner on June 29,
2009.
•• •On
the nomination of Julius Genachowski,
President Obama said, "I can think of no
one better than Julius Genachowski to
serve as Chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission. He will
bring to the job diverse and unparalleled
experience in communications and
technology, with two decades of
accomplishment in the private sector and
public service. I know him as the son of
immigrants who carries a deep appreciation
for this country and the American dream;
and as the proud father of three children
working with his wife Rachel to be
responsible parents in this digital
age."
03h
/More
September 21 / The LAtimes reported
that the . . . New rules proposed by the
nation's chief communications regulator to
ensure unfettered access to the Internet
would level the online playing field as
more people surf the Web on mobile
devices, but the plan has wireless
carriers in an uproar.
•• •Monday's
proposal by Federal Communications
Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski
would ensure that consumers would be able
to get whatever content they want on the
Internet and to use any service they
want.
•• •But
the telecommunications and the cable
companies that control both land-line and
wireless access to the Internet argue that
some customers who download large amounts
of data, such as a continuous flow of
movies, can jam their networks.
Regulations that prevent the companies
from restricting such bandwidth hogs, they
contend, would hamper their networks, harm
innovation and delay upgrades.
•• •The
debate centers on so-called network
neutrality principles that the FCC has
been using for four years to prevent
telecom companies, such as AT&T Inc.
and Time Warner Cable Inc., from
restricting access to websites and other
online services.
•• •Genachowski's
proposal would turn those principles into
permanent rules and expand them to prevent
discrimination against the type of data
flowing through the networks, such as free
Internet phone services or file-sharing
technology for movies.
•• •And
for the first time, the regulations would
apply to wireless carriers. Genachowski
said there was no reason to continue to
exempt wireless services from rules
designed to preserve the Internet's
traditional open access.
•• •"Even
though each form of Internet access has
unique technical characteristics, they are
all different roads to the same place," he
said. "It is essential that the Internet
itself remain open, however users reach
it."
•• •Network
neutrality has become a major cause in
recent years for public interest groups,
Internet activists, Democratic lawmakers
and online companies such as Google Inc.
They worry that telecom companies will
squeeze out competitors offering video and
other services or charge websites fees to
have their pages delivered faster to
users.
•• •Last
year, the FCC ordered Comcast Corp. to
stop blocking some customers from using
the BitTorrent file-sharing technology.
The FCC found that Comcast was trying to
cripple video sites that competed with its
on-demand service and failed to tell
customers it was blocking their access.
Comcast said those customers were using
far too much bandwidth in sharing movies
and other video, dramatically slowing the
network. It is challenging the FCC's
findings in court.
•• •Supporters,
including President Obama, have long
called for a nondiscrimination rule that
would force all Internet content to be
treated equally, ensuring that consumers
don't face limits on what they can access
-- and don't pay higher prices to download
it quickly.
•••Monday's
proposal didn't sit well with wireless
providers, which are becoming increasingly
important players as smart devices such as
the iPhone allow mobile access to video
and other Internet content. They have been
lightly regulated, and proudly point to
that fact as a key reason for more
competition in the fast-growing wireless
arena. •• •Restrictions
also might be applied differently to
wireless than to cable or fiber-optic
lines. He promised that the FCC would
fully analyze the implications for
wireless networks as it drafts detailed
rules.
•• •"This
is not about government regulation of the
Internet," Genachowski said. "It's about
fair rules of the road for companies that
control access to the Internet.
•• •"The
rise of serious challenges to the free and
open Internet puts us at a crossroads. We
could see the Internet's doors shut to
entrepreneurs, the spirit of innovation
stifled, a full and free flow of
information compromised." •
04headline
/Obama was a
strong supporter of network neutrality
during the presidential campaign, helping
to draw online support. •• •He
praised the neutrality announcement
by Genachowski, a former Internet
executive he appointed this year to head
the FCC, as an important step "to preserve
an open Internet in which all Americans
can participate and benefit."
•• •The
FCC's four guiding Internet principles
since 2005 assure that Internet users can
access any legal content, application or
service and allow them to attach any
device to the Internet as long as it
doesn't harm the network.
•• •In
addition to strengthening those
principles, Genachowski's proposal would
mandate that operators clearly state their
policies.
•• •Telecom
trade groups said they were willing to
work with the FCC on updating rules but
cautioned about the risks of
over-regulation.
•• •Genachowski's
proposals would have to be approved by the
FCC. The five-member commission's other
two Democrats, Michael J. Copps and Mignon
Clyburn, said Monday they supported the
plan, guaranteeing enough votes to pass
it.
•• •But
the FCC's two Republican commissioners,
Robert M. McDowell and Meredith A. Baker,
said they were worried about the proposed
new rules. In a joint statement, they
called it "a dramatic proposal to grow
government's involvement in Internet
governance and management."
•• •And
some Senate Republicans backed an
amendment to prohibit the FCC from
enacting new rules.
•• •"The
Internet has flourished in large part
because of a lack of government
interference," Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.)
said. "I see no need to change that
now." •
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