Normally a meeting of the Federal Communications Commission does
not garner much press unless the commissioners are discussing a “wardrobe
malfunction” or slip of the tongue by some miscreant local radio
personality. Most meetings deal with
arcane technical standards and are of interest to engineers and executives of
large telecommunications and broadcasting companies. Last Month in Washington,
when the FCC meet, many of the participants in the room and in the assembly
outside on the street looked like they were part of a 1960s protest march.
The main agenda item was about Internet Neutrality. The question being discussed was if all
content running through the internet’s pipes should be treated equally. The crux of the discussion was if Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) should be allowed to provide faster speeds for some
content providers and charge a fee for this “first class” service. Since its inception, the internet has been
free of any preferential status for data flowing across the networks. So a million dollar bank funds transfer travels
on the internet on a first-come-first-served basis along with that picture of
your Aunt Mary’s cat.
There were no decisions reached at this meeting. The FCC’s process is to develop a suggested
set of rules. They release these rules
to the public and allow an extended period of time for public comment. Although any individual may submit a comment,
they are usually submitted by lawyers in the name of specific interest groups. For instance there will be comments by the
8000 lbs. gorillas like Google and NetFlix.
The latter uses a tremendous amount of internet bandwidth to provide
video to millions of subscribers. Public
interest groups too will have representation.
Internet purists contend that the internet should continue to
provide open and equal access to all.
Corporate and some government officials contend that this can be done by
adopting rules that provide faster speeds for those willing and able to pay,
but at the same time forbid any technology that would slow down other
data.
Once the stuff of researchers and hobbyists, the internet now is
integrated into most every facet of our lives.
Even if we choose to stay “off the grid,” daily we rely on the internet
for growing our food, commerce of all stripes, and communications, to name
only a few. Today, the internet is as
important as our electric and water services; both of which rely heavily on it
to operate.
Look for these internet regulation discussions to increase not
only here in the USA, but around the world.
Many governments around the globe are beginning to get very worried
about the fact that internet control has become beyond their capacity and some
governments get very worried when lack of control happens.
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