http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703961104575226583645448758.html
Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” --- Winston Churchill On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 10:21 AM, Jeff Broadwick <jeffl...@comcast.net> wrote: > New U.S. Push to Regulate Internet Access > By AMY SCHATZ > > WASHINGTON-In a move that will stoke a battle over the future of the > Internet, the federal government plans to propose regulating broadband lines > under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks. > > The decision, by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius > Genachowski, is likely to trigger a vigorous lobbying battle, arraying big > phone and cable companies and their allies on Capitol Hill against Silicon > Valley giants and consumer advocates. > > Breaking a deadlock within his agency, Mr. Genachowski is expected Thursday > to outline his plan for regulating broadband lines. He wants to adopt "net > neutrality" rules that require Internet providers like Comcast Corp. and > AT&T Inc. to treat all traffic equally, and not to slow or block access to > websites. > > The decision has been eagerly awaited since a federal appeals court ruling > last month cast doubt on the FCC's authority over broadband lines, throwing > into question Mr. Genachowski's proposal to set new rules for how Internet > traffic is managed. The court ruled the FCC had overstepped when it cited > Comcast in 2008 for slowing some customers' Internet traffic. > > In a nod to such concerns, the FCC said in a statement that Mr. Genachowski > wouldn't apply the full brunt of existing phone regulations to Internet > lines and that he would set "meaningful boundaries to guard against > regulatory overreach." > > Some senior Democratic lawmakers provided Mr. Genachowski with political > cover for his decision Wednesday, suggesting they wouldn't be opposed to the > FCC taking the re-regulation route towards net neutrality protections. > > "The Commission should consider all viable options," wrote Sen. Jay > Rockefeller (D, W.V.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. > Henry Waxman (D, Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce > Committee, in a letter. > > At stake is how far the FCC can go to dictate the way Internet providers > manage traffic on their multibillion-dollar networks. For the past decade or > so, the FCC has maintained a mostly hands-off approach to Internet > regulation. > > Internet giants like Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc., which want > to offer more Web video and other high-bandwidth services, have called for > stronger action by the FCC to assure free access to websites. > > Cable and telecommunications executives have warned that using land-line > phone rules to govern their management of Internet traffic would lead them > to cut billions of capital expenditure for their networks, slash jobs and go > to court to fight the rules. > > Consumer groups hailed the decision Wednesday, an abrupt change from recent > days, when they'd bombarded the FCC chairman with emails and phone calls > imploring him to fight phone and cable companies lobbyists. > > "On the surface it looks like a win for Internet companies," said Rebecca > Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus. "A lot will depend on the details > of how this gets implemented." > > Mr. Genachowski's proposal will have to go through a modified inquiry and > rule-making process that will likely take months of public comment. But Ms. > Arbogast said the rule is likely to be passed since it has the support of > the two other Democratic commissioners. > > President Barack Obama vowed during his campaign to support regulation to > promote so-called net neutrality, and received significant campaign > contributions from Silicon Valley. Mr. Genachowski, a Harvard Law School > buddy of the president, proposed new net neutrality rules as his first major > action as FCC chairman. > > Telecom executives say privately that limits on their ability to change > pricing would make it harder to convince shareholders that the returns from > spending billions of dollars on improving a network are worth the cost. > > Carriers fear further regulation could handcuff their ability to cope with > the growing demand put on their networks by the explosion in Internet and > wireless data traffic. In particular, they worry that the FCC will require > them to share their networks with rivals at government-regulated rates. > > Mike McCurry, former press secretary for President Bill Clinton and co-chair > of the Arts + Labs Coalition, an industry group representing technology > companies, telecom companies and content providers, said the FCC needs to > assert some authority to back up the general net neutrality principles it > outlined in 2005. > > "The question is how heavy a hand will the regulatory touch be," he said. > "We don't know yet, so the devil is in the details. The network operators > have to be able to treat some traffic on the Internet different than other > traffic-most people agree that web video is different than an email to > grandma. You have to discriminate in some fashion." > > UBS analyst John Hodulik said the cable companies and carriers were likely > to fight this in court "for years" and could accelerate their plans to wind > down investment in their broadband networks. > > "You could have regulators involved in every facet of providing Internet > over time. How wholesale and prices are set, how networks are interconnected > and requirements that they lease out portions of their network," he said. > > -Niraj Sheth, Spencer E. Ante, Sara Silver and Nat Worden contributed to > this article. > Write to Amy Schatz at amy.sch...@wsj.com > > Regards, > > Jeff > > > Jeff Broadwick > Sales Manager, ImageStream > 800-813-5123 x106 (US/Can) > +1 574-935-8484 x106 (Int'l) > +1 574-935-8488 (Fax) > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! 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