The process of making net neutrality enforceable took a tiny step forward Thursday when the Federal Communications Commission sent off its semi-final draft of proposed rules to the White House for approval.
The FCC has to send its rules to be vetted by the White House Office of Management and Budget as the agency is requiring high-speed internet service providers to collect data. The OMB’s role is to co-ordinate and consult between government agencies to address any concerns that the collection requirements might be too onerous.
There are still several steps related to public comment periods and OMB review before the rules become official — the whole process could take at least another three months.
Even when they are published, industry observers expect both public interest groups and service providers to take the FCC to court over their enforceability. And though some Republicans are still trying to block the FCC from enforcing the rules, the White House has said that the President would veto any such attempts because they would interfere with the administration’s national broadband plan.
On Wednesday, a group of Senate Democrats sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them not to adopt an amendment in a House bill that seeks to stop the FCC from enforcing the net neutrality rules.
In the meantime, the FCC issued a few more words of guidance about how to comply with its rules to both wired and wireless high-speed internet providers.
For now, mobile broadband providers are exempt from the rules until the commission figures out the best way for data transmission speeds to be determined.
But generally, providers are expected to share information about the performance and management of the network services that they provide to both consumers and application developers, so they know what to expect.
This means that broadband internet providers will be required to make clear with customers how they manage network congestion, what to expect during ‘busy hours,’ the rules for attaching devices to networks, and how they manage security and privacy.
On Thursday the FCC addressed concerns that ISPs had about the specifics of complying with those rules.
The commission said ISPs won’t be forced to specially train additional staff to answer questions about the new rules for new customers. It also said that ISPs won’t have to provide more detailed information to companies developing applications, services and devices for use on the networks.
The commission also advised ISPs to notify their customers if their security measures might interfere with any of their mail or web servers.
