A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.I heard the tail end of this story on Market Place this afternoon. Then they said that Comcast's stock went *down*. What's up with that?
Comcast's "win" isn't exactly a success. The FCC is an independent Federal agency that makes many of its own rules. The Bush administration's anti-government appointees effectively eviscerated the FCC by not enforcing existing rules and making new consumer-hostile rules that prevent protection of consumer privacy, truth in billing, and competition.
It's possible for the FCC to rewrite its rules to return the regulations that were removed by the previous administration's appointees. In the long run, this could be a boost to 'net neutrality--if the current commissioner has the guts to do it: reinstate consumer protection, promote competition, and require Internet Neutrality.
While the FCC is doing its job, enforcing consumer-friendly rules--unlike in the past administration where they didn't do much of anything and let the broadband companies write the rules--Congress can try to pass legislation to protect consumers and ensure 'net neutrality. If this doesn't happen, the United States, which was first in Internet penetration, then fourth, now twenty-second, will continue to fall behind other industrial countries in broadband penetration, speed and affordability.
Let the "party of NO" have a real filibuster on the floor of the Senate, reading the phone book and Finnegan's Wake or whatever. Then when that one senator can't stand up and talk any more, the Senate can vote on something good for the people. How about requiring a capella singing filibusters?
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