Can the FCC Handle The Truth?

On April 17, the Federal Communications Commission was confronted with what, to some of the Commissioners, were definitely uncomfortable, even inconvenient, truths about how networks are used and abused. These truths ran smack into the rhetoric about the “market” and the need for private sector solutions, even as speaker after speaker on two panels said that there was evidence Comcast continues to degrade peer-to-peer traffic, that Cox is doing it also and that the techniques used by the cable companies are not acceptable to the vast majority of Internet network engineers. It’s evident that the “market” doesn't exist as some FCC Commissioners wish it existed, and that Comcast’s attempts to write a get out of jail free card are coming a little late. Comcast and other carriers caught some criticism, including from FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, for not showing up. That was probably a good call on the company’s part. There wouldn't have been much they could say to defend themselves. It’s much easier to do that in the confines of FCC offices in meetings with staff and Commissioners than in public with a real group of experts firing at you. In the face of all the evidence compiled at this hearing and the one in Cambridge in February, the question is what the FCC will do. How will it handle the truth? It could duck behind some sort of “disclosure” regulation. But even if a customer knows that his P2P traffic is being throttled, what good is that? The truth of this situation calls for something more, but it’s not likely that the Commission will take it on. On Tuesday, April 22, the Senate Commerce Committee will hear some of the same evidence, from Lessig and others. Perhaps the members will grasp the reality and send a message to the FCC that even though the truth hurts, wrecking the Internet would hurt more.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1529