Carriers Aim to Keep Rural Broadband Under Their Thumb

[Commentary] As the Federal Communications Commission tries to formulate a National Broadband plan, wireless carriers are seeking to classify their networks as an acceptable alternative to wired broadband, especially in rural areas. At the same time, those wireless carriers are also trying to convince the FCC that they don't need to abide by principals of network neutrality. If they succeed, rural areas will be limited to wireless broadband, where carriers control what a subscriber can access on the Internet. That means bandwidth-sucking applications such as peer-to-peer file transfers and even HD video downloads may be blocked or limited on wireless networks. As carriers roll out faster, fourth-generation Long Term Evolution Networks with speeds that can range between 5 Mbps and 20 Mbps, wireless may be a viable option for rural broadband (provided those areas actually get LTE). However, if operators succeed in ditching network neutrality for their wireless networks, we would be left with a two-tiered system of broadband access, with a wireless tier that's devoid of net neutrality. And if the FCC decides to let wireless broadband subscriptions substitute for wired broadband access in some areas of the country, those areas will still face a digital divide. But this time the divide won't be distinguished by a lack of access or slow speeds, but by the limitations on applications and services running over the network.