Appeals Court Deals Blow to FCC's 'Net Neutrality' Rules

[dfergie]

In a 2-1 vote on Tuesday, the federal appellate court offered some sympathy for why the government agency would want to require broadband providers like AT&T and Verizon to treat Internet traffic equally, but nonetheless decided that the FCC had exceeded the scope of its authority.

hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Voyager6]

There is a thread about this on the Verizon board. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads...egal-Fight-Begins-Today?p=3352690#post3352690

 

[Ramy]

So what exactly does this mean? I have not been reading up on it.

 

[osu1991]

So what exactly does this mean? I have not been reading up on it.

It means the isp's could start throttling down the speeds on Netflix, Amazon or Dishanywhere in favor of their own streaming services. They can now play favorites with what is passed through their networks to the end users. throttle down torrents whether it's being used for legal or illegal data transfer etc..

 

[Voyager6]

So what exactly does this mean? I have not been reading up on it.

The ball is now back in the FCC and Congress's court. The FCC has to issue new rules that do not overstep their authority, declare that broadband does fall under common carrier rules, or Congress has to give the FCC new powers to regulate broadband.

 

[mike123abc]

They can only do so much before customers get mad and demand change. They may be lightly regulated now, but if they start destroying what people expect from their internet service they will invite the wrath of the internet to come down on lawmakers to "fix" the problem.

 

[jayn_j]

They can only do so much before customers get mad and demand change. They may be lightly regulated now, but if they start destroying what people expect from their internet service they will invite the wrath of the internet to come down on lawmakers to "fix" the problem.

I only wish that were the case. The cable companies were brought in as a regulated monopoly in the 70s-80s. By the mid 90s, the regulation part was thrown out and prices skyrocketed. Still, most people still bend over and pay the cable bill because it is the path of least resistance.

Internet has become an essential service, and most areas only have a very limited choice in carriers. In my area it is either TWC or ATT DSL. Both also offer cable TV services, so both have a vested interest to provide competitive advantage to their own services. You have no choice as a consumer for an internet provider that isn't going to play this game.