Chairman Julius Genachowski, the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has proposed new government rules to expand the ‘Statement of Four Internet Principles’ first endorsed by it in 2005.
The chairman said in his speech that the FCC will add two new rules in addition to the existing four principles. The fifth new principle of ‘non-discrimination’ says that broadband users should be able to use any device or application they want, to reach any legal content they wish, using any broadband technology, so long as they don’t cause harm to the network.
The sixth principle of ‘transparency’ states that users have a right to know how the network is being managed and what practices are being employed by the providers.
According to him, there were three reasons for the new set of rules for ‘Open Internet’. One was the limited competition among service providers. As American consumers make the shift from dial-up to broadband, their choice of providers gets narrowed substantially.
A second reason involves the economic incentives of broadband providers. A majority of companies that operate broadband pipes rely upon revenue from selling phone service, cable TV subscriptions, or both and these services face competition from voice and video products provided over the internet. “The net result is that broadband providers’ rational bottom-line interests may diverge from the broad interests of consumers in competition and choice”, said Mr Genachowski.
The third reason is the increasing web traffic, which is doubling in every two years with the growing popularity of high-bandwidth applications.
He added, “This is not about government regulation of the Internet. It’s about fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the Internet. We will do as much as we need to do, and no more, to ensure that the internet remains an unfettered platform for competition, creativity, and entrepreneurial activity.
“An open internet will benefit both consumers and businesses. The principles that will protect the open internet are an essential step to maximise investment and innovation in the network and on the edge of it — by establishing rules of the road that incentivise competition, empower entrepreneurs, and grow the economic pie to the benefit of all.”
