FCC Puts Net Neutrality In The Fast Lane

(Jennifer Abel @ ConsumerAffairs) It's hard not to feel confused — or at least suspect that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler might be confused — when you read today's news reports that the FCC has voted for “net neutrality,” and hear Wheeler praise “net neutrality” and a free and open internet even though the actual FCC rules seem to run counter to what “net neutrality” is supposed to be.

Net neutrality, as the label suggests, is basically the idea that all websites should be treated equally (or viewed neutrally) by Internet service providers: you can reach all websites at the same speed, whether websites belonging to big rich companies or little blogs and mom-and-pop startups.

But what the “net neutrality” the FCC passed today also allows for an Internet “fast lane” granting certain companies faster connection speeds provided they pay for the privilege.

Earlier this year, Netflix agreed to pay Comcast to ensure Comcast subscribers could get faster connections to the Netflix site; Netflix later signed a similar deal with Verizon. The new FCC rules basically say yes, that's fine; Comcast, Verizon and other providers can indeed charge Netflix higher rates for faster service.

But is that necessarily unfair? Just yesterday, after all, came reports that streaming video services like Netflix account for more than half the broadband traffic in North America.

Good arguments?

Perhaps there are good arguments to make, then, that Netflix should pay more since it consumes more traffic. Or should Internet customers who use lots of bandwidth — the people actually streaming those Netflix videos — pay more than those who do not?

They already do, or soon will. Comcast — which now charges Netflix higher costs for faster connections — is also imposing broadband caps on its customers.

So there's a limit to how much bandwidth you can use for Netflix or other services, in addition to the extra fees Netflix and other services pay to ensure you can access them in a timely manner.

Critics of the FCC proposal fear than the Internet will basically be divided into haves and have-nots: easily accessible websites for companies rich enough to pay for fast-lane service, slow and clunky websites for everyone else.

But FCC Chairman Wheeler, while supporting Internet fast lanes, still said, “there is one Internet. Not a fast Internet, not a slow Internet, one Internet.” One Internet with a fast lane.