In May, US regulators will propose new net neutrality rules

Author: Alina Selyukh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators are expected to vote on May 15 on a new set of so-called “net neutrality” rules that will aim to ensure that broadband providers do not slow down or block consumers’ access to legal content on the internet.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Wednesday that he plans to circulate the proposed rules to fellow commissioners on Thursday, putting them up for a vote at the May 15 FCC meeting. The draft regulations will then be formally proposed and made available for public discussion.

These rules are expected to ensure that network operators accurately disclose how they manage internet traffic and do not restrict consumers when surfing the web. Wheeler also said he plans to take a case-by-case approach and review ISP practices.

However, the rules are not expected to address interconnection issues or arrangements in which content companies pay network providers for faster access to their sites or services.

The issue recently came into the spotlight following a dispute between video streaming service Netflix Inc and cable company Comcast Corp.

Wheeler has confirmed in the past that net neutrality rules will not regulate business-to-business transactions on connections before they reach the user because the scope of the rules is limited to the last stretch of the network that reaches the consumer.

Virtually all large Internet service providers, such as Verizon Communications Inc and Time Warner Cable Inc, have committed to the open Internet principles reinforced by these principles.

However, critics have raised concerns that without formal rules, voluntary commitments could be rolled back over time and leave the door open to transactions that would provide unequal treatment for websites or services.

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down a previous version of the FCC’s open Internet order for a second time.

However, the court confirmed that the FCC has the authority to regulate broadband, giving the agency a new legal option to restore nondiscrimination and blocking rules for ISPs.

Comcast, thanks to conditions imposed on its 2011 merger with NBC Universal, is the only internet provider that will still be covered by the FCC’s previous net neutrality rules through 2018.

Comcast has now proposed to buy its biggest rival, Time Warner Cable Inc, and Netflix has opposed the $45.2 billion merger, arguing that the Internet provider should be prohibited from charging fees for delivering content.

Comcast said Netflix’s opposition “was based on inaccurate claims and arguments.”

Netflix, which accounts for the bulk of Internet traffic during peak hours, struck a deal in February to pay Comcast for faster delivery of movies and TV shows online.

Some companies pay ISPs or other companies that serve as intermediaries to better deliver traffic to users.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Ros Krasny, Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)