WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is
broadening the scope of his proposed open Internet rules and suggesting
tougher standards for Internet providers who wish to create paid
priority fast lanes on their networks.
According
to an FCC official, Wheeler made revisions after the commission
received 35,000 public comments -many of them expressing outrage. The
FCC first briefed reporters on the proposed rules last month.
Wheeler, a Democrat, also tweaked his proposal after the five-member commission's two other Democrats expressed concern.
"The
new draft clearly reflects public input the commission has received,"
the FCC official said in a statement. "The draft is explicit that the
goal is to find the best approach to ensure the Internet remains open
and prevent any practices that threaten it."
Among
the additions is a provision that would "presume" it to be illegal for
an Internet provider to prioritize the traffic of an affiliated service -
for example, it would be considered illegal if Comcast Corp. tried to
give faster treatment to video streams of its subsidiary network, NBC.
However, an Internet service provider would be allowed to challenge that "presumption," the official said.
In
the revised proposal, Wheeler also seeks comment on the possibility of
treating broadband providers as so-called "common carriers" like
telephone companies, which are subject to greater regulation than
Internet providers, under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.
The
FCC and Wheeler have so far avoided subjecting cable and telecoms
companies to Title II treatment, although Wheeler has said the option
remains on the table. In the new proposal, he entertains more discussion
on it than his initial proposal did.
The
proposal also asks whether all paid-priority fast lanes should be banned
outright. The previous version only asks if some paid-priority services
should be banned.
Wheeler has faced a torrent
of criticism after the earlier proposal made it appear as if he was
overhauling the principle of "network neutrality," which says Internet
service providers should not be allowed to discriminate against Web
traffic depending on its source.
Such
discrimination could result if a phone company like AT&T slowed down
traffic from phone services like Skype, or if Comcast slowed Netflix
video speeds to favor its own online video service, Xfinity.
The
FCC will hold a preliminary vote on the rules Thursday before
submitting them for formal public input. Wheeler aims to have a set of
rules in place by year's end. An earlier set of rules from 2010 was
struck down by an appeals court in January after Verizon challenged
them.
