Appeals Court Backs FCC Net Neutrality Rules: Internet Access is a Utility

Yesterday, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision, which supported the new Open Internet Rules by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to ensure open access to the Internet by all Americans. The new rules, commonly referred to as Net Neutrality and developed in 2015, apply to both wireless and wired connects; and are based upon no blocking, no throttling, no paid prioritization, and greater transparency. Cable, telecommunications, and wireless companies have fought the new rules.

The New York Times reported:

"The court’s decision upheld the F.C.C. on the historic declaration of broadband as a utility, the most significant aspect of the rules. That has broad-reaching implications for web and telecommunications companies and signals a shift in the government’s view of broadband as a service that should be equally accessible to all Americans, rather than a luxury that does not need close government supervision... The 184-page ruling opens a path for new limits on broadband providers."

Some of the companies support the FCC's new rules:

"Google and Netflix support net neutrality rules and have warned government officials that without regulatory limits, broadband providers would have an incentive to create business models that could harm consumers. They argue that broadband providers could degrade the quality of downloads and streams of online services to extract tolls from web companies or to promote unfairly their own competing services or the content of partners."

Some of the companies against the FCC's new rules:

"The legal battle from the broadband industry is far from over. The cable and telecom industries have signaled their intent to challenge any unfavorable decision, possibly taking the case to the Supreme Court. AT&T immediately said it would continue to fight."

A spokesperson for AT&T said that it hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately decide the matter. Corporate ISPs don't want Internet access reclassified as a utility. The Republican party promoted Senator Thune's proposed legislation in Congress to undo all of the good in the latest FCC rules. I called the proposed legislation a bait and switch. Read it and you'll probably agree.

U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement:

"... net neutrality is here to stay... The court decision affirms what we already know to be true: that the FCC has the power to classify broadband Internet access service according to its best and current understanding of the technology, and how consumers harness that technology. The battle for net neutrality is the battle for our online future, and today’s ruling is a victory for consumers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and anyone who counts on the Internet to connect to the world. This decision celebrates the free and democratic expression of ideas that is the hallmark of our online ecosystem. Protecting net neutrality ensures that the best ideas, and not merely the best-funded ideas, will rule the day.”

The D.C. Appeals Court decision is indeed good news for consumers. Both consumers and businesses use the Internet daily... need the Internet... for a variety of applications. It has become essential to everyday life. Internet access is like water o electricity. We all need it to live, to work, to attend school.

Open Internet rules makes sense. When a consumer pays for Internet access, he or she should decide what they use that access for... not the Internet Service Provider (ISP). Large, corporate ISPs have amassed a variety of programming content in divisions and subsidiaries. The rule reflects this reality, and helps ensure that when YOU, the consumer, access the Internet you choose where to go -- and not your ISP, which has their own internal, financial bias toward content at owned affiliates, divisions, or business units.

The FCC has already proposed new privacy rules for high-speed ISPs, and unlocking cable set-top boxes to encourage innovation, competition, more choice, and lower prices for consumers. All of these rules make sense, complement each other, and help consumers.

The 184-page decision by the D.C. Appellate Court is available here and here (Adobe PDF; 1,001K bytes).

Comments

[George]

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler leads the agency. For those interested in is background, before joining the FCC, he was a cable industry lobbyist:

"You have to think about what I was lobbying for. The cable industry at that point in time was fighting being put out of business by this agency at the request of the broadcasters," Wheeler said. "Broadcasters wanted to shut down the cable companies. They didn't want to give them access to programming because they didn’t want the content in the market, the competition in the market. And so I joined a crusade—we called it ‘plant a flower in the vast wasteland’—to have choice for Americans in what they see on television."

He added this:

"My history has always been working with the insurgent, not the incumbent... I have always been the guy coming up the side of the hill, rather than the guy on the top of the hill pushing boulders down to stop them."

It's worth highlighting that the tables have turned: the cable, wireless, and broadband (Internet) companies are now the incumbents. Source:

How a former lobbyist became the broadband industry’s worst nightmare
http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/03/how-a-former-lobbyist-became-the-broadband-industrys-worst-nightmare/

George
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