FCC Chief Seeks Broad Open-Internet Rules

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is proposing that the agency apply tougher open Internet rules broadly, raising concerns of cable and phone companies and some lawmakers that the government could try to control efforts to offer products such as digital cable or premium business services. Genachowski's proposal suggests everything in the Internet pipe is covered by rules prohibiting discrimination against any legal Internet traffic, known as Network Neutrality, unless the agency says otherwise, according to FCC officials familiar with a draft circulating in the agency. Internet providers could seek exemptions for so-called premium managed services, like private corporate data networks or pay-TV services, which require guaranteed levels of data speed. Phone and cable companies worry Chairman Genachowski is trying to turn their broadband lines into "dumb pipes" of Internet data, instead of highly segmented and managed lines that allow them to offer different sorts of services -- at different prices -- to customers. "We haven't seen the rules yet, so we can't comment on specifics, but we hope the FCC shares our appreciation for the complexity and the societal importance of managed services," said Walter McCormick, president of USTelecom, the phone-industry trade group. "Obviously the more prescriptive the government's approach, the less innovation will be available for consumers."