Opinion: Dear FCC -- You're Going the Wrong Way

(June 7) -- When the route you've picked doesn't take you where you want to go, it's always best to figure out where you took a wrong turn, or reprogram your GPS.

That's advice the Federal Communications Commission would do well to heed. After having been prodded by misguided "net neutrality" advocates, the FCC continues on a course that will hamper the development of the Internet, potentially harming job growth, innovation, investment and further network build-out, which could ultimately lead to increased costs that hurt the consumers it means to help.

It's not as if there haven't been warning signs that the commission is seriously off course. In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously ruled that the FCC lacked any specific legal authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. In essence, this decision continues to let Internet service providers treat applications that utilize huge amounts of bandwidth and data differently from those that are used by the average consumer.

More recently, in a rare sign of bipartisanship, 285 Democratic and Republican members of Congress have written letters to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski trying to get it to stop the net neutrality car.

At issue is an FCC plan to reclassify broadband under Depression-era regulations meant for copper-wire phone lines, so that it can impose strict limits on how Internet service providers can manage their networks. Net neutrality advocates want the FCC to block Verizon, Comcast and other providers from putting limits on high-volume users who clog their pipes.

Democrat John Dingell, the longtime chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, expressed "grave concern" regarding the FCC's plan, saying that it would place "at risk significant past and future investments, perhaps to the detriment of the nation's economic recovery and continued technological leadership." Hardly a ringing endorsement of the FCC's direction.

It's worth noting how far the nation has come under existing rules. The primary net neutrality principles were adopted by the FCC unanimously and with bipartisan support back in 2005. They provide that network operators can't prevent consumers from accessing all lawful Internet content, applications and services, or prohibit users from attaching nonharmful devices to the network.

Since then, we've seen explosive growth, continued investment -- $63 billion by network providers in 2008 alone -- and widespread use of the Internet. Today, 74 percent of Americans use the Internet.

The broadband acceleration of recent years shows no signs of slowing. Web pages are more engaging and useful than ever, providing audio, video, photos and interactive live chat. Application writers and Internet users alike have an entirely new means for expressing themselves to the world. At the same time, content providers are supplying a seemingly unending stream of video, audio, and data almost instantaneously over both wired and wireless networks. This is all because broadband is now available and affordable to a huge and growing proportion of the American population, across multiple platforms and devices.

Ideally, the FCC will be guided down a path that leaves broadband free of burdensome regulation and open to innovation and investment -- especially in this historic economic downturn.

It is now apparent to everyone (except maybe a few of the current commissioners of the FCC) that the Internet is far more than just a "telecommunications service" delivered over an old-fashioned telephone line. Whether the FCC recognizes it or not, broadband is one of the most critical tools in our nation's economic recovery.

This is precisely why Congress must stop the FCC's current drive control toward regulation.

Improper classification of broadband technologies will wreak havoc on our cyberhighways. As one letter from Congress noted, the consequences of this action "could be severe: reduced broadband investment, less economic stimulation, and fewer jobs."

We can all agree that broadband is the road to our economic prosperity. Dynamic innovation and unparalleled investment in the networks is needed to take us to a promising tomorrow.

During this continued and challenging economic period for most Americans, the Congress and the FCC should look to the recent and extraordinary successes the Internet has brought with light-touch regulation, taking into consideration the massive boom in advanced technologies that continue to offer completely new tools to American consumers each day, provide new jobs and keep us globally competitive.

That's why we should all hope that the FCC realizes it's headed in the wrong direction before it is too late.

Deborah Taylor Tate is a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, distinguished adjunct senior fellow at the Free State Foundation, and 2009 World Telecommunications and Information Society Day laureate for her work regarding child online protection. Tate also serves on the board of directors for the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council.


To submit an op-ed or a letter to the editor, write to opinion@aolnews.com.