Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin is worried about mounting rumors of a proposed “two-tiered” broadband
delivery system by the Baby Bells.
Under the plan being quietly pushed in Congress by the Bells, broadband
providers would be able to charge Internet companies, such as Yahoo, Google
and Amazon, an extra fee to deliver high-bandwidth content and services to
consumers.
Martin told a Consumer Electronics Show crowd in Las Vegas on Friday that
broadband providers have the right to sell differentiated services, but
consumers should have the ability to access any legal content on the
Internet.
Internet companies and consumer advocates did not question the right of the
Bells to charge a fee, but they are concerned the proposed pricing scheme
will ultimately price out smaller firms hoping to deliver high-speed
services.
“It is critical that consumers have unfettered access to the Internet and
all the services it provides,” said Martin. “Washington could be concerned
if providers were to block access to information and sites traditionally
available on the Internet.”
In August, the FCC issued a statement of principle that consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet
content of their choice, run applications and services of their choice and
plug in and run legal devices of their choice.
The FCC also said consumers
have a right to competition among network, application, service and content providers.
“Consumers have demanded this ability, and cable and telephone companies
have delivered it,” Martin said in August. “In a competitive marketplace,
providers must do so. They provide a service consumers want or they do not
succeed.”
The FCC’s statement of principle, however, has no force of law.
In his Las Vegas appearance on Friday, Martin dodged questions on whether
service providers can cut financial deals with network operators for higher
speeds than similar providers can afford.
Hoping to avoid what is quickly becoming known among deregulatory advocates
as “anticipatory” rulemaking, Martin said FCC action isn’t necessary in the
absence of any real evidence of network operator blocking access to some
parts of the Internet.
This article was first published on OpticallyNetworked.com.
RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS
-
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
-
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
-
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
-
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
-
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
-
Top 10 AIOps Companies
FEATURE |  By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
-
What is Text Analysis?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
-
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
-
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
-
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
-
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms
FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
-
Finding a Career Path in AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
-
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
-
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
-
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
-
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
-
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
-
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
-
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
-
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020