Federal regulators next week are expected to seek to turn controversial "net neutrality" principles into formal rules intended to give the nation's computer users the right to use whatever services and devices they like without interference from their ISPs.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is widely expected to announce during a speech on Monday at the Brookings Institution that he will ask the Commission in October to start a formal rule making process. The FCC currently relies on the so-called Broadband Principles dating to 2005 to enforce consumer rights, but those ad-hoc rules are being tested by Comcast in court. Comcast says the rules have no force, and the FCC had no legal power to force it to stop blocking peer-to-peer video transfers. The FCC has also avoided deciding whether the rules apply to wireless services, such as the 3G networks that power smartphones.

The move represents a win for 'net neutrality' groups like Public Knowledge which have unsuccessfully pushed for more explicit rules from Congress and the FCC in order to prevent cable companies from discriminating against online video sites or DSL companies from throttling competing net phone calling services.

The news has the wireless industry worried.

"As we've said before, we are concerned about the unintended consequences that net neutrality regulation would have on investments from the very industry that's helping to drive the U.S. economy," Chris Guttman-McCabe, who is the CTIA-The Wireless Association VP for regulatory affairs, said in a statement. "We believe that this kind of regulation is unnecessary in the competitive wireless space as it would prevent carriers from managing their networks — such as curtailing viruses and other harmful content — to the benefit of their consumers."

The sentiment was different from Gigi Sohn, the president of Public Knowledge, a D.C. public interest group that has risen to prominence through the long-running net neutrality battle.

"This is a very welcome development, and is years past due. The Internet was created and grew up under strict non-discrimination rules," Sohn said. "Having rules in place will bring a degree of certainty that will help both carriers and consumers alike. Carriers will know what is allowed and what is not; consumers will be relieved to know they will be able to have access to any content and service on a non-discriminatory basis."

Photo M3Li55@p>

U.S. Backs Google in Web Fight [wsj.com]

See Also: