Net Neutrality has been a hot button issue for those whose internet provider has throttled (slowed down) the transmission of your internet connection.   Or even worse being cutoff altogether because you or your business uses a large amount of data transfer. Well now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has come out with a new policy and says that the internet providers can no longer throttle, cutoff or charge extra (for favored status) anymore! The ruling that was released is five pages long and makes quite a statement.

After the vote the FCC Commission said, “Today, the Commission — once and for all — enacts strong, sustainable rules, grounded in multiple sources of legal authority, to ensure that Americans reap the economic, social, and civic benefits of an Open Internet today and into the future.” Also in the press release the following was stated “These new rules are guided by three principles: America’s broadband networks must be fast, fair and open — principles shared by the overwhelming majority of the nearly 4 million commenters who participated in the FCC’s Open Internet proceeding.”

Further as part of the released statement, “Broadband providers have economic incentives that “represent a threat to Internet openness and could act in ways that would ultimately inhibit the speed and extent of future broadband deployment,” as affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court upheld the Commission’s finding that Internet openness drives a “virtuous cycle” in which innovations at the edges of the network enhance consumer demand, leading to expanded investments in broadband infrastructure that, in turn, spark new innovations at the edge.”

I take the above as a fact that the Commission has recognized that the Internet providers do not have the protections that they thought they could hide behind. And thumb their collective noses at their customers.

The ruling also states the following, “First, the Order reclassifies “broadband Internet access service”—that’s the retail broadband service Americans buy from cable, phone, and wireless providers—as a telecommunications service under Title II. This decision is fundamentally a factual one. It recognizes that today broadband Internet access service is understood by the public as a transmission platform through which consumers can access third-party content, applications, and services of their choosing. Reclassification of broadband Internet access service also addresses any limitations that past classification decisions placed on the ability to adopt strong open Internet rules, as interpreted by the D.C. Circuit in the Verizon case. And it supports the Commission’s authority to address interconnection disputes on a case-by-case basis, because the promise to consumers that they will be able to travel the Internet encompasses the duty to make the necessary arrangements that allow consumers to use the Internet as they wish.” What that means that the providers are now considered a utility and subject to the same regulations as any utility provider and thus come under the regulation of the FCC. This is a tremendous step forward for the consumer and a great blow to the internet providers.

Now they can not throttle, cut off or charge extra to favor one set of internet traffic over another.

There will be not imposition of taxes or surcharges due to this ruling, so the consumer comes out as the winner. Let us all hope that the FCC’s ruling is able to weather any court battle the internet providers might bring to the court’s attention.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike