Net neutrality is back (temporary?), United States – ZDNet France

After more than a year of discussion and debate, sometimes virulent and marked once again by the clash between lobbies, net neutrality is back in the United States. The telecoms regulator, the FCC adopted three votes against the adoption of two new rules

On paper, the principle is always the same. Ensure an open Internet, including by prohibiting service providers and operators to block or slow traffic on fixed and mobile networks.

Internet is a public service

But the ISP does not have the ability to offer pay and priority services and that would allow them to charge for example to players like Netflix privileged access and faster to their subscribers. Clearly, no highways or two-tiered Internet – that the FCC has yet been accused of wanting to create.

Compared to the previous regulation adopted in 2010, the FCC, this time built a major legal change. Indeed, the Internet is a public service, allowing the government to regulate the Internet infrastructure in the same way as the old telephone network.

And this legal evolution allows especially FCC to have the authority to fully play its role as a regulator with market participants. For it is precisely this aspect that was sued and enabled operators to break the previous rules governing net neutrality.

The FCC decision naturally not been the unanimously and fault lines in the debate are the same. On one side the online services and consumer associations on the other cable operators and elected Republicans hostile to any intervention of the state.

And what are the rules exactly? We do not know

For the head of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, legally redefine Internet access is certainly controversial but nonetheless essential if the new rules are not canceled in court, as was the case in already twice.

For ISPs and operators, the regulator has opted for the “nuclear option” and the consequences could be devastating. These actors and ensure that the application of an obsolete regulation hinder innovation by directly affecting investment in networks.

Even worse they add, these rules could even authorize the government to force network operators to share their infrastructure with competitors. While in France, this principle is less debate in the United States is perceived as interference.

Anyway, the Net neutrality only just passed the first stage . And again, maybe not quite, belong to our colleagues at The Register. For indeed, the exact text of the new regulation is still not stopped. And it will likely not be released until several more weeks.