Network Neutrality and Peering: Could Proposal Give FCC Tighter Control?

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission’s latest network neutrality plan raises important questions about Internet traffic exchange, which has been a hot topic over the last couple of years.

The quality of the end user experience depends not only on bandwidth and packet priority but also on the quality of the connection between the broadband provider serving the end user and the broadband provider serving the content provider. These interconnection agreements have been largely out of FCC control and there have been numerous disputes over the last couple of years between the two different types of providers. Some of the providers serving consumers -- including large telcos like Verizon and large cable companies like Comcast -- have required providers serving content companies to pay interconnection fees because they send more traffic to the consumers than they receive from the consumers. The providers serving the content companies say they shouldn’t have to pay interconnection fees if they deliver traffic to a point close to the end consumer, requiring the consumer broadband provider to carry traffic only for a relatively short distance. It’s whether the proposal would give the FCC oversight over Internet interconnection agreements.