On February 26, the FCC approved the net neutrality rules which classify broadband internet service as a utility. According to the New York Times, the internet will be regulated, also applying to mobile data services for smartphones, tablets and wired lines. The new rules are treating the internet like a phone service because the internet is a public utility rather than an information service.
The vote for net neutrality won with a vote of 3-2 along party lines. The three who voted yes were democrats, while the two who voted no were republicans. The democrats argued that with the net neutrality rules in place, corporations cannot harm the consumer by raising prices for fast lanes.
For example, Netflix takes up a large amount of bandwidth and internet service providers want to charge Netflix more money. If they were to charge Netflix more money, Netflix would be forced to raise prices on subscription fees.
According to the New York Times, a republican commissioner said that this is not a good thing for investments, that it undermines innovation, and ultimately will harm consumers.
There are pros and cons on both sides of the new rules, depending on who you listen to. Barbara Cherry, a professor of telecommunications at Indiana University said that the new rules were long overdue and needed to be done.
According to an article on cbsnews.com, the ruling classifies the Internet as a common carrier along with phone service, railroads and the postal service, and enforces legal obligations to operate “without unreasonable discrimination, at reasonable rates and with adequate care, often referred to as reliability,” Cherry explained.
On the other side, ISPs are making their dislike of the new rules known.
“We have never argued there should be no regulation in this area, simply that there should be smart regulation. What doesn’t make sense, and has never made sense, is to take a regulatory framework developed for Ma Bell in the 1930s and make her great grandchildren, with technologies and options undreamed of eighty years ago, live under it,” said AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, Jim Cicconi.
If the rules were in place right now, this is what it would mean for you, according to the Huffington post:
No service interruptions on sites like Netflix and all web services will be treated equally by ISPs. As stated above, this means they cannot slow down service to a website just because that company does not want to pay more for the same service.
Fewer gatekeepers controlling information. Tumblr’s David Karp wrote on Politico that eliminating net neutrality “would make the Internet work a lot more like cable TV,” where programs pass through a series of gatekeepers before they’re produced and presented on your screen. To simplify this, if the rules were not in place, Netflix could outbid Hulu for premium services thus making Hulu not very desirable to people who stream episodes online.
Either way, the net neutrality deal is not done yet, according to the Huffington post. Republicans are investigating the decision which will then be followed by lawsuits, most likely. But for now, the ruling will not affect the internet in the immediate future. We can all enjoy the internet the way it is at this current moment.
Matt Summers
Reporter