Battle over bandwidth
The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is pushing the “strongest open Internet protections ever proposed” by the federal agency. So says Barry Orton, professor of telecommunications at UW-Madison.
Orton explains, “The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler has announced he going to go for a very robust net neutrality regulation under what’s called Title II, which means he’s treating the Internet as a public utility.”
Net neutrality requires Internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally. Big business and small entrepreneurs would have the same unrestricted, high-speed access to the Internet. Discussions have been going on for more than a decade.
AUDIO: Orton explains that everyone would be treated equally under net neutrality. :55
Orton says when the FCC’s five-member panel votes on the issue at the end of this month, it won’t be resolved. He says it’s going to be “an epic battle.” Orton says, “There will be lawsuits against it and there are going to be attempts at writing new statute in Congress.”
FCC Chair Wheeler said in a statement last week, his proposal “assures the rights of Internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.”
More than four million public comments were taken into consideration during recent rule-making discussions — by far the most ever for an FCC rule-making proceeding.
Wheeler wants to subject all Internet service to Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. The FCC is scheduled to take a vote February 26th.
