FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr: “An Open Internet” is Essential – But What Has it Changed After the Reheap?
Dissenting FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, said that fears of a sluggish or pricey internet without the rules were overblown — that consumers benefited from faster speeds and lower prices since the repeal. Net neutrality advocates dispute the argument that broadband rates dropped when net neutrality went away, saying the numbers are misleading.
The FCC chair stated that broadband is now an essential service. In regards to essential services, there are some basic oversights.
The rules that were introduced previously are not the same as the rules put forth now. There have been previous FCC orders pursuing net neutrality challenged in court giving the agency an idea of which policies will be defensible when it comes to lawsuits.
Still, there were changes. Some ISPs implemented zero-rating plans, the practice of excluding some apps from data charges, she notes, or were caught throttling — intentionally slowing down consumer internet speeds.
The attempts to bring back net neutrality in Congress kept the internet service provider on their best behavior for the past six years.
Most people didn’t notice net neutrality’s effects after the repeal went into effect, but that was because they were kept in the dark.
Also referred to as an “open internet,” net neutrality aims to level the digital marketplace, prohibiting internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and AT&T from running fast lanes and slow lanes — speeding up or slowing down internet speeds — for online services like Netflix and Spotify.
“Every consumer deserves internet access that is fast, open and fair,” FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said ahead of Thursday’s vote. “This is common sense.”
The rules are sure to invite legal challenges from the telecoms industry — not for the first time. And a future administration could always undo the rules.