Net Neutrality: FTC Publishes Report

“Caution” Instead of New Regulations

June 27 - After months of hearings, commentary and even shouting matches, the Federal Trade Commission urged lawmakers to “proceed with caution” when considering new regulations for the broadband Internet access market, but offered no new recommendations on regulations for the nation’s access providers.

iMEGA believes that by not proposing regulations of ISPs preventing their levying higher access fees on high-traffic Web destinations like Google and Yahoo, or blocking/capping bandwidth for competing services (i.e. independent VoIP providers like Vonage and Sun Rocket), the door is left open for practices that may have a chilling effect on innovation and consumer choice on the Internet.

Links:
FTC: Report on Broadband Connectivty Competition Policy (Release)
NY Times: FTC Urges Caution on Net Neutrality
SaveTheInternet.org: Dropping the Ball on Net Neutrality

Insisting that “more - not less - competition” is driving the broadband market, to the benefit of consumers, the FTC said, “certain conduct and business arrangements that broadband providers may pursue, including data prioritization, exclusive deals, and vertical integration into online content and applications, can benefit consumers.”

In the end, with the demand for bandwidth continuing to increase, and the need for more infrastructure and service, the investment dollars to keep pace are undeniably needed. The issue will not be who pays, but rather who will charge consumers for this. iMEGA recognizes that regardless if it will be online publishers or ISPs collecting the revenue, it will be customers who will bear the costs of America’s Internet infrastructure build-out. With the FTC’s non-action, the American consumer was poorly served today, as the US administration has elected to let the marketplace decide who will collect their dollars.