According to the Washington Post, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently advanced a proposal that could allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to charge Internet content providers for higher-quality delivery of their content to consumers. For example, an ISP could charge a content provider, like Netflix, for the additional costs of providing faster video streaming.
The FCC maintains that its proposal would prohibit ISPs from “commercially unreasonable” practices like blocking a website or reducing a consumer’s download speeds from a website to a rate below that which the consumer bought. Opponents of the proposal, however, fear that it will hurt smaller companies that cannot afford to pay ISPs for faster service, and increase consumer costs as content providers pass along the new ISP charges.
The proposal is open for public comment for 120 days. Once the FCC reviews the comments, a final rule could be rewritten by the end of the year. The FCC’s website has additional information on the proposed rule and how to comment.
