'Tis shortly after midnight in Washington, DC, and at least one person is stirring over at the Federal Communications Commission—the FCC's Jen Howard. She's just sent out the tentative agenda for the agency's December 21 Open Commission meeting, which includes this notable item:
Open Internet Order: An Order adopting basic rules of the road to preserve the open Internet as a platform for innovation, investment, competition, and free expression. These rules would protect consumers' and innovators' right to know basic information about broadband service, right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic, and right to a level playing field, while providing broadband Internet access providers with the flexibility to reasonably manage their networks.
This is, of course, what everybody has been hoping for, or dreading—actual, for-real open Internet rules. The next question is what kind of regulations can we expect? A non-discrimination provision that includes wireless? A transparency rule? Will they be based on Title II limited common carrier language, or will the agency stick to some kind of Title I "information services" regimen, as we've been hearing from various quarters?
Public Knowledge has been staying up late too, and just sent us this press response to the announcement.
"We commend the Federal Communications Commission for tentatively putting open Internet rules on the agenda for the Dec. 21 Commission meeting and for, we expect, circulating a draft order," PK's Gigi Sohn declared. "As Comcast's recent actions have shown, such rules are urgently needed."
That last comment refers to the brouhaha over Comcast's demand for cash to deliver cached Netflix traffic to its subscribers, and its fight with Zoom Telephonics over cable modem testing (we'll have a story on that battle soon).
Also on the FCC agenda for December: a Notice of Inquiry on how to bring texting, photos, and video to 911 services.
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