Six things you should know about broadband reclassification

If you’re confused by all the talk about broadband reclassification, here’s what you need to know:

1. What are Title I and Title II services?

Broadband traditionally has been considered a Title I information service, rather than a Title II telecommunications service. Title II services are more heavily regulated and include requirements such as filing tariffs before offering services or changing prices. The FCC has been responsible for Title II services for years, but whether it has the authority to regulate Title I services is a matter of debate.

2. What was the Comcast decision?

The FCC’s authority to regulate broadband was called into question recently when the Supreme Court ruled that the FCC had overstepped its authority in an earlier ruling that prevented Comcast from limiting subscribers’ use of peer-to-peer services such as Bit Torrent, which use a lot of bandwidth. The FCC wanted to prevent Comcast from imposing those limits because it considered that practice to be a violation of Net neutrality guidelines.

3. How does Net neutrality figure into this?

Net neutrality guidelines, which have been advocated by Internet-centric companies such as Google, are aimed at ensuring an open Internet with few restrictions. Different versions of the guidelines have made their way into a variety of policy documents — from carrier merger conditions to the broadband stimulus program. Most versions talk about the importance of being able to access any Internet content and connect any device to the Internet. The most controversial guideline is one that says carriers cannot treat different types of traffic differently, which is what caused the FCC initially to rule against Comcast. Carriers have opposed Net neutrality because they want to be able to patrol traffic in the way that Comcast did and they want to be able to charge more for premium classes of broadband service.

Now that the FCC’s authority to regulate broadband has been questioned, concerns have risen that the FCC may decide to classify it as Title II service to bring it under the commission’s control.

4. Who is in favor of making broadband a Title II service?

Almost no one. Neither Net neutrality advocates nor Net neutrality opponents want to see the heavy regulation of broadband that could be entailed if it were classified as a Title II service.

5. How does Universal Service figure into this?

One initiative that almost everyone does favor is a recommendation in the National Broadband Plan issued in March that would transition the outmoded and voice-focused Universal Service program into a broadband program. But now that the FCC’s ability to regulate broadband has come into question, some have questioned whether the FCC has the authority to make that transition.

6. Is there any way to achieve broadband Universal Service and perhaps at least some elements of Net neutrality without reclassifying broadband?

This is a big topic of debate. Some argue that the FCC can transition the fund without reclassifying broadband — a topic Connected Planet will be exploring more in the future. Another possibility is that Congress could simply give the FCC authority over broadband without reclassification — or could enact legislation to formalize Net neutrality. But either of those options could take years.