New Net

From the BBC:
"Net neutrality rules passed by US regulator"

New rules on how the internet should be governed have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. In what is seen as a victory for advocates of net neutrality, the commission voted in favour of changes proposed by chairman Tom Wheeler. Three commissioners voted in favour and two against. The US Telecommunications Industry Association said that broadband providers would take "immediate" legal action over the rule changes.

 

The main changes for broadband providers are as follows:

• Broadband access is being reclassified as a telecommunications service, meaning it will be subject to much heavier regulation
• Broadband providers cannot block or speed up connections for a fee
• Internet providers cannot strike deals with content firms, known as paid prioritisation, for smoother delivery of traffic to consumers
• Interconnection deals, where content companies pay broadband providers to connect to their networks, will also be regulated
• Firms which feel that unjust fees have been levied can complain to the FCC. Each one will be dealt with on a case by case basis
• All of the rules will also apply to mobile providers as well as fixed line providers
• The FCC won't apply some sections of the new rules, including price controls

Ahead of the vote, commissioners heard from a variety of net neutrality advocates, including the chief executive of online marketplace Etsy and a TV drama writer. Web founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee also contributed via video link. Columbia Law School Prof Tim Wu, who originally coined the phrase net neutrality, welcomed the ruling. "It is a historic day in the history of the internet," Prof Wu said. "Net neutrality, long in existence as a principle, has been codified in a way that will likely survive court scrutiny. More generally, this marks the beginning of an entirely new era of how communications are regulated in the United States." But broadband provider Verizon said that the rules being adopted by the FCC were "written in the era of the steam locomotive and the telegraph".

"Today's decision by the FCC to encumber broadband internet services with badly antiquated regulations is a radical step that presages a time of uncertainty for consumers, innovators and investors," it said in a statement. US broadband providers are estimated to spend around $73bn (£47bn) a year on upgrading infrastructure. Net usage is expected to double over the next 10 years and data transmissions to increase eight-fold.

 

 

^ Not that it affects me as broadband is not available in my area, but it seems like a good thing to make a unified rule. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31638528