Net Neutrality Deadline Looms
Eagerly anticipated public comments on the FCC's plan to bolster its network neutrality rules are due Thursday, with many to be submitted to the agency later this afternoon, CongressDaily reported. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed in September that voluntary guidelines governing the Internet's openness be expanded to bar network operators from engaging in discriminatory behavior, require more disclosure about network management practices and subject violators to stepped up enforcement.
The bitter divide over net neutrality was highlighted by the widely divergent viewpoints detailed in early submissions. While a coalition of more than 40 civil rights, public-interest and advocacy groups applauded the chairman's proposal in two sets of comments, the wireless association CTIA issued a statement saying it would request that mobile communications providers be exempt from neutrality regulations. "The commission cannot point to a market failure that would justify its proposed rules," the group said, insisting that wireless broadband networks face a unique set of capacity constraints and other limitations not associated with wired systems.
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