U.S. wireless carriers ready to fight mobile net neutrality

Jake Widman
Friday, 25 September 2009 06:57

Your IT - Mobility

Following a speech by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission expressing support for a "free and open Internet," wireless carriers are arguing that regulations aren't necessary. The stage is set for a battle over how open mobile broadband should be.

The FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, gave a speech at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization, in which he reiterated his strong support for the "historic openness" of the Internet.

He listed a series of "deviations" from that principle by broadband providers, such as blocking VoIP services, throttling peer-to-peer traffic, and controlling access to particular content.

He went on to compare the FCC to "a smart cop on the beat preserving a free and open Internet," and reaffirmed the "Four Freedoms" principles that guide the agency's enforcement efforts.

Genachowski summarized the four principles as: "network operators cannot prevent users from accessing the lawful Internet content, applications, and services of their choice, nor can they prohibit users from attaching non-harmful devices to the network."

He went on to propose two new principles: a rule that providers cannot discriminate against particular content or applications, and one that broadband providers must be transparent about their Internet management practices.

He raised red flags for the wireless industry, though, when he said these rules should apply to the Internet, "however accessed."

For the reaction of the wireless carriers, see Page 2.