Net Neutrality has many definitions floating through the ether. For starters, though, here is our take on what the FCC did.
If you want the quick and dirty, below is a bare summary of the rules, or you can read all 400 pages here.
- Included mobile broadband in the category of regulated Internet services.
- Removed Internet service providers from membership in the group called Information Service and reassigned them to the group called telecommunications service (a.k.a. “Team Telecom”).
- Prohibited ISPs from blocking, throttling or paid prioritization.
- Prohibited unjust or unreasonable interference or disadvantage of your ability to get content, apps or use devices or a provider’s ability to make available lawful content, services, apps and devices.
- Created ways to take and adjudicate disputes by consumers against ISPs. Established an ombudsperson to help people.
- Gave ISPs access to utility poles and conduits.
- Gave ISPs access to subsidies for rolling out broadband.
- Preempted prohibition of government sponsored Internet service. For instance, in Tennessee and North Carolina, cities had built high speed Internet service for residents because the ISP had failed to provide it. The big ISPs pushed those states to ban government-sponsored services if they could get dial up from a private company. (“If I can’t have you, no one will.”)
- Adopted Advisory Opinions as a way for companies to get FCC comment or advice on potential practices.
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