Much ink has been spilt and many electrons have been rearranged to discuss the pros and cons of Net Neutrality as a regulatory philosophy for managing the Internet. The arguments have been that as the Internet becomes increasingly important as an entertainment and communications service infrastructure, there should be safeguards and service provider behaviors that the FCC should enforce. However, proponents argue that the highly competitive access market of telcos, cablecos and IP wirelesscos are the only natural and automatic way to assure that industry participants treat consumers with respect.
Well, further to our Guide on the topic, the FCC chairman has set December 21, 2010 as the voting day for his latest proposal for Net Neutrality, which allows tiering of consumption – use more, pay more – into bands and leaves network owners in charge of managing their networks, pretty much as they see fit. Visitors to our site agree with this practice, particularly as it relates to the emerging class of wireless broadband services.
