This week, the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is likely to suggest a new classification for internet services. This has been reported both in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. According to both newspapers, the Authority is pushing for broadband internet services to receive the same status category as, for example, electricity and water supply. This means that the FCC would be undisputedly authorised to regulate providers.
Until now, internet service providers have been classified as operators of communications services, which has meant that the FCC have not been able to prescribe them net neutrality. A first attempt to do this in 2010 was successfully challenged by the American provider Verizon, who won the battle, in court. Now the FCC is trying to introduce a new classification. Their persistence could also be due to the fact that in several public speeches US President Barack Obama has already promised to maintain a free and open internet. However, as the FCC is an independent authority, he cannot instruct them directly.
Should a legally fixed net neutrality be enforced, it would be primarily internet service providers such as cloud providers and providers of content like Netflix who would profit: those who would simply continue to provide their services to customers as before without any additional costs. The cable network operators, who would not be able to market prioritized broadband connections, would be the ones left in the lurch. (resource: New York Times/Wall Street Journal/rf)