The Network Neutrality Order: A Look Inside

The network neutrality debate is primarily about means, not ends. Both sides agree that the Internet should be open, which means, roughly, “the way it is now.”

Opponents of network neutrality think that the best way to preserve this model of success is to leave it alone. There is no need for government regulation, with its attendant cost, unintended consequences, and possible dampening effect on network investment, because there is no evidence of any systematic failure of the existing marketplace to deter “abuse.”

Network neutrality proponents, on the other hand, see a convergence of factors that makes future discrimination practically certain. Their thinking, as set out in the Commission’s net neutrality order, boils down to this: broadband providers have an ability and incentive they didn't have before to block or impede selected traffic on their networks. Deep packet inspection (DPI) technology has advanced and is increasingly used for network management. Simultaneously, Internet telephone and cable services – VoIP and Internet video – are growing fast, delivered side-by-side with cable and phone companies’ own offerings and on their own network. As a result, broadband providers are in a position to, and have every incentive to, favor their own, affiliated, or pay-for-priority content, to the detriment of consumer choice and continued innovation. The few samples of discriminatory behavior already documented reinforce this prediction. Finally, the free market won't help, because in many places there is little choice of broadband Internet providers.

Given these circumstances, the FCC concludes, it need not wait for substantial, pervasive, and difficult-to-reverse problems to arise before it acts.