FUROR ERUPTS OVER NET NEUTRALITY RULES

Original Story:  USAToday.com

A battle has erupted over the Federal Communications Commission chairman's new proposal for net neutrality rules that would allow content providers to pay for Internet express lanes.

In the first formal step toward reinstating net neutrality, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler presented a draft of the revised rules to his fellow commissioners Thursday. The rules would prevent Internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against lawful content.

But the proposal allows fast lanes to consumers' homes, the so-called "last mile," that content providers such as Netflix can purchase as long as the same opportunities are available to others on "commercially reasonable" terms. The new rules give the FCC the authority to review such arrangements to ensure that they don't harm consumers and competition.

Critics of the new approach immediately asserted that fast lanes are a form of discrimination that could leave small businesses and entrepreneurs at a disadvantage. The FCC should include specific language to prevent such deals, or ISPs should be classified as public utilities that can be regulated more strictly, they say.

"Net neutrality prevents that overcharge, which gets passed along to consumers and stifles innovation," says Gabe Rottman of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Net neutrality proponents were also concerned that the new rules do not address traffic over the back-end Internet pipes used by content providers to send data to ISPs' front doors.

Netflix caused an industry furor earlier this year when it agreed, albeit reluctantly, to pay Comcast for a more direct connection between its servers and Comcast's network to provide faster delivery. "Where they are headed with this is down the wrong path, as ISPs get explicit legal permission to do deals with Internet companies," says Netflix spokesman Joris Evers.

The FCC's Open Internet rules were enacted in 2010 to ensure that Internet providers do not discriminate against lawful content. Following an industry challenge, a federal appeals court invalidated the rules earlier this year but allowed the FCC to recast them.

Wheeler said his goal is to enact rules similar to the earlier ones that pass muster with the court. The commission will vote on them at the agency's May 15 meeting. If they are approved, public comment will be taken before the rules go into effect, which Wheeler hopes will be by the end of the year.