Net Neutrality Ruling Makes Broadband Plan Uncertain

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Technology Thursday

There was a court ruling on net neutrality this week. Here's how Ars Technica described the ruling:

[T]he DC Circuit Court of Appeals told the FCC that there's no way, no how that various policy statements in Title I of the Communications Act gave the agency the authority to tell Comcast what it could or could not do about BitTorrent.

A lawyer buddy of mine read the decision and suggested that it basically comes down to the FCC having previously declared that cable modems were information services and not "telecommunications carriers" and as such not subject to Title II authority. So now it seems that the court's saying: ok, you gotta' get Congress to let you do this and not just assert that you have the authority. Cecilia Kang who writes on technology policy for the Post took a slightly more expansive view.

She says the FCC has 3 options: reclassify broadband under Title II as a common carrier; get Congress to grant the FCC the authority it needs; appeal the decision. There's another rundown at Wired, where, in my view, the key grafs are:

Now broadband companies effectively have no regulations that constrain them, as the FCC has left itself with no statutory means to control what telecoms do with their internet networks.

A broadband company could, for instance, ink a deal with Microsoft to transfer all attempts to reach Google.com to Bing.com. The only recourse a user would have, under the ruling, would be to switch to a different provider — assuming, of course, they had an alternative to switch to.

Companies can also now prohibit you from using a wireless router you bought at the store, forcing you to use one they rent out — just as they do with cable boxes. They could also decide to charge you a fee every time you upgrade your computer, or even block you from using certain models, just as the nation’s mobile phone carriers do today.

Net neutrality is not a concept that lends itself to a simple definition. Put four techies in a room and you'd probably get 6 definitions. But this latest ruling certainly seems to change the option space--for the FCC, for broadband providers, and for Internet users. Indeed, the FCC itself is now saying that this decision throws pieces of their broadband plan, just announced in March (and discussed here briefly), into flux:

Those include goals of bringing broadband to low-income and rural areas and getting those communities to adopt the technology. Experts say the FCC may not be able to convert a $8 billion phone subsidy to be used also for new broadband networks after the court’s decision. Cybersecurity efforts to protect broadband users, consumer protections on speeds and prices, and privacy are also removed from the agency’s jurisdiction after the court case.

Things just got a bit more complicated.