The U.S. government will review the rules that control the broadband connections to the Internet, which will get into a bitter dispute that could stall in the courts for years.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on Thursday to receive input from the public on three different paths it could take to regulate broadband. One proposal is that of the FCC chairman, Democrat Julius Genachowski, which defines access to broadband as a telecommunications service required to treat the same way to all traffic data it receives.
Genachowski The proposal is a response to a ruling by a federal appeals court raised questions about the authority of the FCC on broadband.
The plan has the support of many leading Internet companies, who say that the FCC ensure that prevent cable and phone companies decide what users can do on the Internet.
"There is an urgent need to do this because now there are no rules to protect consumers in the most blatant discriminatory behavior of the cable and telephone companies," said Markham Erickson, executive director of the Coalition for an Open Internet. This group includes Google, eBay, Amazon.com and the Internet calling service Skype.
But the plan faces strong opposition Genachowski of broadband providers such as AT & T and Verizon Communications, which will ensure that outdated regulations that would take away the incentive to upgrade their networks.
"This proposal by the FCC would put into question the assumptions of the companies that are the basis for investment in broadband multi-billions of dollars," said Howard Waltzman, a lawyer for the telephone companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment