A federal appeals court today struck down some key provisions of the FCC Open Internet order. The court determined that, because ISPs do not have “common carrier” classification the way telephone providers do, the FCC does not have the authority to force ISPs to treat all traffic equally. This is a massive blow to the very foundation of what makes the Internet work the way it does, and has potentially devastating consequences.
The Net Neutrality debate seems to have reached critical mass, and it’s making me angry. Google and Verizon have struck a deal to submit a proposal to lawmakers that, in short, would stand to kill the Internet as we know it. I’m not being dramatic or fear mongering, I’m stating the reality of the situation. The elements of this proposal are engineered to appear to protect users’ rights to open Internet, but in reality have major loopholes that seem to give them carte blanche to filter services at will on mobile networks & “new services” that show up.
Verizon’s recent announcement to open their network to all CDMA handsets, as well as applications, marks a major transition in the mindset of wireless carriers in the U.S. and presents a great opportunity for innovative development. With the option for consumers to use any handset they like with Verizon’s service, manufacturers and developers will have fewer hoops to jump through when it comes to bringing their product into the market mainstream.
