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Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate
Introduction
As congressional policymakers continue to debate telecommunications reform, a major point of
contention is the question of whether action is needed to ensure unfettered access to the Internet.
The move to place restrictions on the owners of the networks that compose and provide access to
the Internet, to ensure equal access and non-discriminatory treatment, is referred to as "net
neutrality." There is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality." However, most agree that
any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that
compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that
network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that
network.
What, if any, action should be taken to ensure "net neutrality" has become a maj or focal point in
the debate over broadband regulation. As the marketplace for broadband continues to evolve,
some contend that no new regulations are needed, and if enacted will slow deployment of and
access to the Internet, as well as limit innovation. Others, however, contend that the consolidation
and diversification of broadband providers into content providers has the potential to lead to
discriminatory behaviors which conflict with net neutrality principles. The two potential
behaviors most often cited are the network providers' ability to control access to and the pricing
of broadband facilities, and the incentive to favor network-owned content, thereby placing
unaffiliated content providers at a competitive disadvantage.
Federal Communications Commission Activity
The Information Services Designation and Title I
In 2005 two major actions dramatically changed the regulatory landscape as it applied to
broadband services, further fueling the net neutrality debate. In both cases these actions led to the
classification of broadband Internet access services as Title I information services, thereby
subjecting them to a less rigorous regulatory framework than those services classified as
telecommunications services. In the first action, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a June 2005 decision
(National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services), upheld the
Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) 2002 ruling that the provision of cable modem
service (i.e., cable television broadband Internet) is an interstate information service and is
therefore subject to the less stringent regulatory regime under Title I of the Communications Act
of 1934.' In a second action, the FCC, in an August 5, 2005, decision, extended the same
regulatory relief to telephone company Internet access services (i.e., wireline broadband Internet
access, or DSL), thereby also defining such services as information services subject to Title I
regulation.2 As a result neither telephone companies nor cable companies, when providing
broadband services, are required to adhere to the more stringent regulatory regime for
1 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. For a full discussion of the Brand X decision see CRS Report RL32985, Defining Cable
Broadband Internet Access Service: Background and Analysis of the Supreme Court's Brand X Decision, by Angie A.
Welborn and Charles B. Goldfarb.
2 See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260433A2.pdf for a copy of former FCC Chairman
Martin's statement. For a summary of the final rule see Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet
Over Wireline Facilities. Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 199, October 17, 2005, p. 60222.Congressional Research Service
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Gilroy, Angele A. Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate, report, October 25, 2011; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810148/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.