Google wants the FCC to compel more ISP data

Google filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Sept 13 recommending that it gather and verify more information from Internet service providers, using existing rules to force broadband providers to be more transparent about their network management practices.

The FCC does not currently compel reports on network management practices. Part of the goal of the agency's controversial network neutrality proceeding is to fill what it sees as a consumer-protection loophole with a rule forcing broadband providers to reveal how they optimize traffic on their networks. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed a transparency rule as part of the proceeding. Google, in this filing, points to a way to impose stricter transparency requirements without relying on that delayed and uncertain process. The FCC could revise the FCC's Form 477 review to collect more information, Google said in its filing. Such an effort would take the FCC's open data initiatives "to the next level," according to Derek Slater, a senior policy analyst at Google. Google said the Form 477 review, already on the books, should be revised so that wireline providers have to report to the FCC on their network management practices. That includes cases when the practices affect the performance of content and applications or when they reduce the speed or quality of a connection below its advertised rate.