In a surprising victory for common sense, the FCC voted to treat broadband internet connections as Title II common carriers. I don’t know how long it will last before the Republicans tear it down, but here’s hoping the decision stands. Common carrier is the only sane way of treating ISPs, and it’s always surprised me that it hadn’t happened sooner.
The problem, though, is that I don’t think the FCC will go far enough. They’ve already waived the intent to ensure sane pricing, which is a damn shame because anything more than two seconds of research would prove we’re being gouged. I had also hoped that they’d enforce uncoupling, but that looks unlikely.
Honestly, if the FCC really went to bat for the American citizen, they’d force openness on networks (bigger issue on cellular networks, but some of Comcast’s recent messages about “upgrading” modems concern me), and ban the filtering, intercepting, and blocking of customers’ traffic. Yes, this would mean potentially more spam, but it would be worth it for preventing the copyright cartel three-strikes bullshit that’s getting pushed through.
Well, I sincerely doubt we’ll be getting anything that good, as sensible as it would be. But we are getting “net neutrality” (pretty much), so I guess it’s a victory nonetheless.