FCC approves net neutrality, everyone rejoices

[Cyberghost]

FCC approves net neutrality, everyone rejoices​

In a groundbreaking decision today, the Federal Communications Commission officially approved net neutrality, the policy that will ensure the future of the open Internet.

The policy will enact strict regulations on ISPs—the companies that connect people to the Internet—making it so they are unable to give preferential treatment to certain content providers. Without net neutrality, for example, Netflix or Hulu could pay Comcast to grant their users faster access.

"No one, whether government or corporate, should control free and open access to the Internet," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said just before the vote. “This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech!"

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The regulation reclassifies the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act, bringing it more in-line with traditional utilities like power and water. The vote was passed 3-2, along party lines, at today's FFC meeting. The new policy will ban blocking, throttling, and paid-prioritization fast lanes. The new open Internet rules will also be fully applicable to mobile.
The dissenting votes came from Republicans Michael O'Rielly and Ajut Pai, who both said that the FCC was overstepping its authority and interfering with an open free market by enacting such regulation.

"This is a victory for free speech, plain and simple," said the ACLU's legislative counsel Gabe Rottman, in response to the news. "Americans use the internet not just to work and play, but to discuss politics and learn about the world around them. The FCC has a critical role to play in protecting citizens' ability to see what they want and say what they want online, without interference."

Source : PC Gamer

 

[gameranand]

Good news.

 

[thetechfreak]

Next meeting on 26th March. Anyways here's a great quote of Tom Wheeler I found:

The Internet is the most powerful and pervasive platform on the planet. It is simply too important to be left without rules and without a referee on the field. Think about it. The Internet has replaced the functions of the telephone and the post office. The Internet has redefined commerce, and as the outpouring from four million Americans has demonstrated, the Internet is the ultimate vehicle for free expression. The Internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules.

This proposal has been described by one opponent as, quote, a secret plan to regulate the Internet. Nonsense. This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech. They both stand for the same concepts: openness, expression, and an absence of gate keepers telling people what they can do, where they can go, and what they can think.

Further Reading

 

[$hadow]

Definitely a good news for everyone.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

good news for all

 

[harshilsharma63]

What happens to Airtel charging extra for VoIP?

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Well, I didn't get the thing. Does it applies to whole world or only America?

In case of the latter, how it's going to matter to us in India?

 

[$hadow]

FCC doesn't work in India I guess. But still it is a good news coz now the cranky Indian providers do not have a back support for making any weird data charges.

 

[thetechfreak]

Well, I didn't get the thing. Does it applies to whole world or only America?

In case of the latter, how it's going to matter to us in India?

If they start, I'm pretty sure there will be debates started in other countries around the world to implement the same. In addition, servers there would have filters to check whether a subscriber is a fast lane user or not. So other users like us might have speed issues when accessing servers located there.

What happens to Airtel charging extra for VoIP?

After the huge outrage on social media they have stopped for now. Anyways FCC doesn't regulate broadband here. It all depends on TRAI on what they think. There may very well be a debate in our country on implementing such laws if telecos persuade,

 

[theserpent]

It's 2015,I remember that minimum net speed has to be 2 mbps now, 1.5 years back airtel made post fup speeds 512 kbps, hope they raise it to 2mbps now

 

[$hadow]

^^ Wish this come true soon.