US ISPs Unlikely To Give Up Easily On Net-Neutrality

The long-standing dispute over the issue of net neutrality in the US has further flared up yesterday with both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and lawmakers backed the notion of making the internet a neutral place.

The new spell of debate on bringing upon net neutrality in the US was triggered by Monday speech of Julius Genachowski, in which he said he would seek to add some new regulations on internet service providers (ISPs) to safeguard net neutrality.

Under the new regulations, the telecom companies would be prevented from speeding up or slowing down the traffic on the basis of the service or program being used by the users.

While the proclamation from the FCC chair has come as a huge triumph for consumers and entrepreneurs, it emerges as a big setback for telecom heavyweights like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.

In addition to preventing ISPs from discriminating on the grounds of internet applications or content, Genachowski also called for more transparency from ISPs about the network management practices they implement.

However, the country’s two biggest mobile network operators, AT&T and Verizon, have agreed to abide by the principles outlined by the FCC, only when it comes to their wired broadband networks.

But the two companies have explicitly voiced their concerns over implementing such regulations in case of mobile phone networks.