This is somewhat suprising news found in Dave Lazarus' column in the LA Times today:
" A battle is about to erupt between federal regulators and telecom " companies, and nothing less than the future of the Internet could " be on the line. " " At issue is a seemingly benign question: Is the Net an " information service or a telecommunication service? " " As it stands, high-speed Internet service is classified by the " Federal Communications Commission as a "Title I" information " service in the same way that Google is an information " service. This means broadband providers such as phone and cable " companies are only lightly regulated by the agency. " " By reclassifying broadband as a "Title II" telecom service -- " like, say, phone service -- the FCC would be able to more closely " oversee providers' actions and pricing, and would be better " positioned to implement its recently announced 10-year plan to " bring high-speed Net access to virtually every U.S. home. " " I know: This is wonky stuff. But the stakes couldn't be higher, " especially at a time when broadband Internet service is playing " an increasingly vital role in a wide variety of areas, including " entertainment, education and healthcare. " " "This could determine whether the FCC really has the power to act " on its broadband plan," said Ben Scott, policy director with Free " Press, a communications advocacy group. "It will define who " really runs the Net." " " The issue has its roots in a ruling this month by the U.S. Court " of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the FCC has " only limited power under current law to control the online " actions of network operators such as phone and cable companies. " " The case grew out of assertions by cable giant Comcast Corp. that " it had a right to block Net users from accessing file-sharing " websites such as BitTorrent. " " The ruling effectively declared that the Net's corporate " gatekeepers can claim the last word when it comes to what passes " through their pipes -- not a great position for federal regulators " seeking to improve the nation's broadband resources. " " One possible way to enhance the FCC's jurisdiction over the Net " would be a bill from Congress firmly establishing the agency's " dominion over broadband networks, just as it oversees phone " systems. But with Republicans in full no-more-regulation mode, " such a legislative fix seems unlikely. " " That leaves reclassification of broadband's status from " information to telecom service. The FCC could do this " unilaterally, but it would then have to withstand a full-on " assault by interest-protecting, deep-pocketed phone and cable " companies. " [...] " But agency insiders tell me that movement toward reclassifying " broadband networks as telecom services could come within weeks.
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