Net neutrality returns to the United States seven years later. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced this Thursday the approval of a new internet regulation that aims to guarantee that the Internet “is fast, open and fair.” The truth is that the worst omens that were predicted in 2017, when that principle regarding a discriminatory internet for rich and poor was suppressed, or even about the end of the internet as it was known, never came to pass. Now, in addition to neutrality, comes a new regulation of the internet as an essential service.
Like the proposal submitted for consultation, the final vote has gone ahead by a result of three votes to two, with Democratic support and Republican opposition.
Net neutrality prevents fixed and mobile broadband operators from blocking content or discriminating in the speed of access to it. The FCC shielded the principle of Net neutrality in 2015, during the presidency of Barack Obama. With the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House and Republican dominance of the FCC board, the regulator decided to eliminate it in 2017. The effects have been limited. There were already experts who pointed out that the apocalyptic predictions were somewhat exaggerated.
Therefore, there are also doubts about the practical effects of recovering that principle. Perhaps what has bothered telecommunications operators the most is that they are subject to stricter supervision and regulation.
“With its action today, the Commission creates a national standard that allows it to ensure that broadband Internet service is treated as an essential service,” the FCC said in the statement announcing its decision. “Today's vote also makes clear that the Commission will exercise its authority over broadband in a narrowly tailored manner – without rate regulation, pricing or unbundling – to encourage continued innovation and investment,” he added.
With this Thursday's vote and the entry into force of the new regulation, the FCC ensures that it achieves essential tools to protect the open Internet. Internet service providers will once again be expressly prohibited from blocking legal content from Internet service providers, throttling speeds, and creating fast lanes that favor those who can pay for access.
National security
The rule, according to the regulator, will also serve to safeguard national security. The Commission will have the ability to revoke the authorizations of foreign-owned entities that pose a national security threat to operate broadband networks in the United States. The FCC has previously exercised that authority to revoke the operating authorizations of four state-owned Chinese carriers to provide voice services in the United States. Now, any provider without equivalent authorization for voice services must also cease any fixed or mobile broadband service operations in the country.
The FCC will also tighten oversight of Internet service outages with the new rule. “When workers cannot telework, students cannot study, or companies cannot market their products because their Internet service is not working, the FCC can now play an active role,” states the federal agency.
“Broadband internet access is a critically important means of communication and is essential to modern life,” said Commissioner Anna Gomez, one of those who voted in favor, adding: “Protecting this essential infrastructure for the security, economy, health, education and well-being of our country is good public policy. Its value is of such relevance that we must protect it before it is too late.”
The chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, appointed by President Joe Biden, defended a few months ago in a speech in Washington that the pandemic made it very clear that broadband is not a luxury, but a necessity and that, in her opinion, It needs stricter regulation and supervision.
In contrast, FCC Secretary General Brendan Barr, appointed by Republicans, has been highly critical of the regulation. in a statement released in parallel to that of the majority. “The Internet has thrived in the United States in the absence of the command-and-control government regulation of the 1930s. In fact, from the beginning there was a bipartisan consensus that the government should not regulate the Internet like the telephone monopoly,” he says in a lengthy statement in which he questions the way the regulation was originally approved in the Obama era and attacks the recovery of it.
He denounces that in 2017 “supporters of greater government control flooded the area with apocalyptic rhetoric.” “The media and politicians meaninglessly parroted his claims. They predicted 'the end of the Internet as we know it'. Consumers would have to pay to access the websites. None of that happened. “Americans were the subject of one of the biggest deceptions in the history of regulation,” he adds, before attacking big technology.
“Today's order is not about correcting a market failure. Broadband access is more dynamic and competitive than ever, regardless of how the data is analyzed. “Americans benefit from lower prices, faster speeds, broader and deeper coverage, greater competition and an acceleration of Internet construction,” adds Barr, who predicts less investment as a consequence of the interventionism of the rule.
For users there are already different access rates depending on download speed, data limit and other factors. What the concept of Net Neutrality raises is whether broadband providers can discriminate against the content of platforms such as Netflix or YouTube or require payment in exchange for quality access to their content, which consumes a large part of the capacity. of the network. It is a traditional battle for operators, who complain about having to undertake the network investments that these free transmission services (known as OTT) take advantage of. over the top). In practice, for the average user, no change has been seen. The operators could not risk discriminating against this content without violating competition laws.
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