The issue of "net neutrality" has occupied the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or "the Commission") for
years. With the FCC poised to adopt a new regulatory regime for
broadband providers at its meeting on February 26, FCC Chairman Tom
Wheeler recently released the outlines of his proposal—which
is anticipated to be adopted on a 3-2 party-line vote. This
Alert provides a brief summary of some of the issues and
viewpoints, pro and con.
But, first, here is some background. Net neutrality comprises
several different concepts. As formulated by the FCC Chairman, they
reduce to the following: no blocking access to lawful content,
applications, services and devices that do not harm the network; no
throttling, i.e. impairing or degrading lawful traffic
based on content, applications, services or (non-harmful) devices;
and no prioritizing traffic based on the receipt of consideration.
In addition, the Chairman has said the proposal will provide a
standard by which new
