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Mobile products helped spur the proposed Communications Act rewrite

Arguing that new mobile technology has made small changes no longer possible, key Congressional Democrats announced a plan yesterday to review and revise the Telecommunications Act with an eye to regulating mobile and broadband technologies.

Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) announced Monday that the rewrite would be in stages over the next few years, with incremental bills being introduced and presumably passed before work on the next.  The first bill would be Boucher’s internet privacy bill, a draft of which his office has circulated for comment.

“The world has changed dramatically. Telecommunications have been transformed. The Internet is now the focal point for communications of all kind,” said the Congressman in an interview with CongressDaily.

The effort comes after a federal appeals court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not have sweeping authority to regulate broadband networks.  The FCC has sought to implement a new national broadband plan and expand network neutrality guidelines.  The four Congressional sponsors’ legislation will ultimately look to regulate services (e.g. broadband) rather than industries, said Boucher.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been moving forward in recent weeks crafting new regulations on net neutrality, scheduling a vote on a proposal this Thursday.  However, CongressDaily (subscription) is reporting this morning that the proposal would exempt online companies Google and Skype from the regulations and instead focus on broadband providers, like Comcast and Verizon.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a draft of his proposed rules last night and an initial count has enough votes for the rule to pass.  Both Democratic commissioners have indicated they will vote for the Chair’s proposal, while neither Republican commissioner has indicated how they will vote.  The FCC expects to post the proposed rules Thursday.

Net neutrality is the debate over how much access should be provided and at what cost by broadband companies.  In the past decades, members of Congress have introduced legislation to prevent broadband companies from pricing internet access and content into different tiers, which proponents of net neutrality claim would restrict access and reduce competition.   FCC Chair Genachowski has made the issue a top priority upon his taking office, and even has publicly ruminated expanding net neutrality laws to include wireless carriers and not just traditional computer-based internet access.

Proponents of excluding website companies such as Google and Skype argue that net neutrality should apply to high speed internet providers.  But opponents claim that Google’s expansion into the mobile phone world and a variety of non-internet ventures like Google Voice should open them to net neutrality considerations.  Opponents also are weary of the working relationship Google has with the Obama administration - Google CEO Eric Schmidt served as an economic advisor to the Obama transition team.

Google recently came under fire when it was revealed that Google Voice, its popular free online calling service, was being restricted in rural areas to prevent incurring access fees.  The FCC opened an investigation into the practice earlier this month at the behest of AT&T but was investigating it under telecommunications law, not net neutrality violations.

What do you think?
Should net neutrality rules apply to websites like Google and Skype?(surveys)

Quick Hits

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