FCC expected to strip broadband of price, line-sharing rules for phones

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission plans to seek clear-cut powers to regulate Internet service providers, redefining the government's role over at least parts of the fast-growing industry.

The proposal, to be announced Thursday, is expected to be opposed by broadband network operators such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, whose Internet access businesses are becoming their main source of revenue as consumers rely on the Web as a primary communication tool.

Internet companies such as Google and Skype and public interest groups are applauding the move because it would allow the FCC to carry out policies to expand broadband access nationwide. The groups also support the commission's efforts to create a regulation that would force broadband service providers to treat all applications equally over high-speed Internet networks, a concept known as net neutrality.

A senior FCC official said Wednesday that Chairman Julius Genachowski's move would be a "third way," between the industry's current state of deregulation and a more comprehensive regulatory approach. Broadband is now defined as an information service with weak FCC oversight. The proposal would put Internet service providers in a category with telephone service, which is more clearly under the agency's authority.

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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/05/fcc_expected_to_strip_broadban.html

{{shudder}}

What does all this mean to me? What does it mean to the average person who pays for broadband service?

breaks up monopolies, better pricing structure (a la carte), availability to the poor, I'm for it.