2015 brings a battle between the GOP-led Congress and the FCC over net neutrality. And soon, too. Brian Fung at the Washington Post says there are two freight trains rushing toward each other - #1, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, pressing for a vote on net neutrality in February. And #2, Congress, with the Post saying that “Republican lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation this month to preempt any FCC rule on the subject.” That legislation could be tricky to write, since everybody defines “net neutrality” differently. The Republicans presumably want to block the FCC from trying to regulate broadband providers such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T as utilities, under so-called “Title II” authority. They say companies should be free to innovate and cut deals with content providers such as Netflix. (The streaming service signed such a deal, but immediately protested, in public.) The Post says Chairman Wheeler “does not see the need for more public input on the benefits and drawbacks on using Title II, as earlier reports suggested” – he intends to circulate a draft among the other four Commissioners on the Eighth Floor. The likely result? Another 3-2 vote.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:01:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015