IDG News Service —
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's decision Friday to prohibit Comcast from slowing peer-to-peer traffic was met with a wide range of reactions, with some groups calling the vote a huge victory for broadband subscribers and others saying it opens up the Internet to meddlesome new regulation.
The FCC's decision was a "landmark" victory for supporters of an open Internet and net neutrality, said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. The digital rights group was among those that filed complaints against Comcast after press reports in late 2007 revealed that the nation's largest cable broadband provider was throttling BitTorrent and some other Web traffic.
The FCC voted 3-2 on Friday to order Comcast to stop interfering with peer-to-peer traffic by the end of the year and to submit a new network management plan to the agency. Comcast, one of the two largest broadband providers in the U.S., hinted that it may try to block the FCC's order in court.
While net neutrality advocates will celebrate the FCC's decision Friday, they will keep pushing for the FCC or the U.S. Congress to create definitive rules prohibiting broadband providers from arbitrarily blocking or slowing some Web content, instead of acting on a case-by-case basis, Sohn said. "This is huge, it's a giant step, but it's not enough to ensure that Internet users are protected," she said.
Some opponents of the ruling also suggested the decision will create uncertainty for broadband providers looking to manage traffic congestion on their networks, said FCC member Robert McDowell. "Is the next step for the FCC to mandate that network owners must ask the government for permission before serving their customers by managing surges of information flow?" he said. "As a result of today’s actions, Internet lawyers around the country are likely advising their clients to do just that."
The FCC decision leaves small broadband providers wondering what kind of network management is allowed, said Brett Glass, operator of the Lariat.net wireless broadband provider in Laramie, Wyoming. The ruling -- which Glass called "arbitrary and capricious" -- could scare investors away as well, he said.
"We're kind of in the dark here," Glass said. "We don't know if this is going to be crippling or really damaging."
Comcast said Friday it is looking at all its legal options. The broadband provider has questioned the FCC's authority to regulate how it manages its network, and McDowell echoed that position during Friday's FCC meeting. The FCC in 2005 adopted Internet policy principles telling consumers they have a right to unfettered access to legal Web applications, devices and services of their choice, but those principles were not set up as enforceable rules, McDowell and other critics said.
