Consumer groups, phone companies spar over US broadband stimulus

Phone companies faced off against consumer groups on Monday, in a debate over how $7.2 billion in federal broadband spending should come with a mandate that Internet networks remain open to all traffic. As the government prepares to set rules for doling out the funds, public interest groups say providers vying for money should not discriminate based on content or applications.

"The federal government is not a charity for broadband providers. It is an investor," said Ben Scott, policy director for the consumer group Free Press. Industry has long contended that nondiscrimination and interconnection requirements tie their hands and have argued that they need to be able to manage their network. They also say the requirements would discourage investment.

Free Press defines that nondiscrimination as: "Grant recipients must not provide or sell to Internet content, application, or service providers, any service that privileges, degrades, prioritizes, or discriminates against any lawful content transmitted over the grant recipient's Internet access service. Grant recipients must offer bandwidth for Internet service upon reasonable request, on rates, terms and conditions that are just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory. The nondiscrimination condition should not be construed to prohibit a grant recipient from engaging in reasonable network management consistent with the principle of nondiscrimination."