Just as we expected, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has come out in support of an open internet by invoking the agency's Title II authority, which will treat broadband internet the same as a public utility like telephone service. "Broadband network operators have an understandable motivation to manage their network to maximize their business interests," Wheeler wrote in an editorial on Wired. "But their actions may not always be optimal for network users." Specifically, Wheeler says the new rules will ban paid prioritization, which lets ISPs charge for faster access to its networks, as well as the slowdown of "lawful content and services." The open internet protections will also apply to mobile broadband, which was left woefully untouched when the agency passed a limited net neutrality ruling back in 2010.
Wheeler pointed out that the rise of the internet probably would have looked very different if the FCC didn't open up access to networking equipment in the '60s. He also related the tale of his own company, NABU, which provided high-speed cable internet during the '80s, but ultimately failed because it relied on getting access to networks from cable operators. Meanwhile AOL (which owns Engadget) managed to succeed because it was taking advantage of open phone networks -- despite being hundreds of times slower than NABU.
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[Photo credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Networking, Internet
Source: Wired
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