FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday defended his Net Neutrality proposal at an event organized by the conservative think tank, R Street Institute, and technologists community, Lincoln Network. The “Restoring Internet Freedom” order would undo the 2015 change that re-classified the internet as a utility so ISPs must treat all internet traffic the same, with no fast or slow speed lanes.
The upshot of that change, Pai said, has meant more regulatory burdens for smaller ISPs that cancel, curtail or delay fiber network upgrades. Nearly two dozen small providers submitted a letter saying the FCC’s “heavy-handed rules ‘affect our ability to find financing.’” A coalition of 19 municipal internet service providers—city-owned nonprofits—told the FCC that they, “often delay or hold off from rolling out a new feature or service because [they] cannot afford to deal with a potential complaint and enforcement action,” he said.
As he “cut through the hysteria and hot air” surrounding net neutrality, Pai said the change he wants his colleagues to vote on at the December 14 meeting will “bring back the same framework that governed the internet for most of its existence.” He called it “light touch regulation,” unlike “destroying the internet” or “ending the internet as we know it,” that he’s reading from the opposition in the media lately. Continue Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment