Lawmakers: FCC may need to regulate broadband
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 17:16Two powerful Democratic members of Congress have called on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to consider reclassifying broadband as a regulated common-carrier service in order to protect Net neutrality rules and implement parts of its national broadband plan.
The letter from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, called on the FCC to consider “all viable” options, including reclassifying broadband as a common-carrier service, to move the national broadband plan forward.
[ Stay ahead of the key tech business news with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: First Look newsletter. | Access InfoWorld from your iPhone or other mobile device at infoworldmobile.com. | Read Bill Snyder's Tech's Bottom Line blog for what the key business trends mean to you. ]
Rockefeller and Waxman wrote in a letter to the FCC, released today, that they are concerned about the agency’s ability to implement large parts of the broadband plan and create Net neutrality rules following a decision last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in which the court ruled the FCC did not have the authority to enforce informal Net neutrality principles against Comcast.
Several communications law experts have questioned the FCC’s authority, with broadband now classified as a largely unregulated information service, to create programs to fund broadband deployment to unserved areas, to create Net neutrality rules, and to require broadband providers to provide consumers with accurate information about connections speeds, the two lawmakers wrote in their letter.
“We believe that it is essential for the Commission to have oversight over these aspects of broadband policy, because they are vitally important to consumers and our growing digital economy,” the two chairmen wrote. “For this reason, in the near term, we want the agency to use all of its existing authority to protect consumers and pursue the broad objectives of the National Broadband Plan.”
The letter from Waxman and Rockefeller comes after a Washington Post report on Monday saying that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appears to be backing away from calls by Net neutrality advocates that the FCC reclassify broadband as a common-carrier service, regulated under Title II of the Communications Act.
If Genachowski refuses to shift broadband service to Title II, it would lead to multiple lawsuits, with court challenges every time the FCC tries to enact rules affecting broadband, said representatives of Free Press, a media reform group and Net neutrality supporter. Without reclassifying broadband, the FCC would be abandoning the longtime pledge by U.S. President Barack Obama to pass Net neutrality rules, said University of Nebraska law professor Marvin Ammori, a senior adviser to Free Press.
If the FCC tries to pass Net neutrality rules without reclassifying broadband as a Title II service, “that means they’re abandoning Net neutrality,” Ammori said. “It’s a sham, essentially.”
