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FCC chairman to outline rules for 'net neutrality'
The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to outline rules on Monday requiring Internet providers to respect "net neutrality," the principle that all Web traffic should be treated equally.
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is to make a speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, on Monday during which he will "affirm his support for a free and open Internet," the FCC said.
The regulatory body did not provide any further details about Genachowski's speech, his first major pronouncement on the hotly contested issue since taking office.
But The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers said the FCC chairman would propose rules that would prevent Internet providers from blocking or slowing bandwidth-hogging Web traffic such as streaming video or other applications that put a strain on their networks.
During his White House campaign, President Barack Obama came out strongly in favor of net neutrality, which is backed by companies such as Google and Amazon and consumer advocacy groups, but opposed by telecommunications, wireless and cable companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.
The Journal, citing "people familiar with the plan," said Genachowski is expected to propose that rules against blocking or slowing Web traffic should also apply to wireless-phone companies, which currently restrict data flow over their airwaves to prevent congestion.
It said Genachowski was expected to propose that the FCC clarify its current net neutrality principles and add on a new one which would require carriers to practice "reasonable" network management.
It said the agency would ask for guidance on how to define "reasonable."
Internet providers in the past have rejected what they see as government interference in their networks and how they manage traffic.
The US Congress has also been looking into the issue and a net neutrality bill is expected to be introduced shortly in the House of Representatives.
