Internet search services provider Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., a US-based American broadband and telecommunications company, have released a policy statement, according to which, phone and cable TV companies, that provide Internet access, should be barred from slowing down, blocking or charging to prioritise Internet traffic flowing over their regular broadband lines. The companies, however, left room for broadband providers to charge extra to route traffic from premium services such as remote medical monitoring and smart-grid controls over dedicated networks that are separate from the public Internet.
Google and Verizon laid out their vision in a policy proposal that they hope can serve as a framework for Congress and the Federal Communications Commission in drafting so-called 'network neutrality' rules. Such rules are meant to ensure that phone and cable providers cannot favour their own services or discriminate against Internet phone calls, online video and other web services that compete with their core businesses.
Although broadband providers such as Verizon and Internet-content companies such as Google are at opposite ends in the increasingly bitter debate over such rules, the two companies have been in talks for months to try to identify common ground. Their proposal comes just days after the FCC declared an impasse in negotiations to craft an industry-wide compromise on the thorny issue.
The proposal from Google and Verizon is expected to give the FCC authority to enforce those rules for wired networks by prohibiting broadband providers from discriminating against or favoring Internet traffic. The proposal would allow the agency to impose a penalty of up to $2 million on companies that violate the rules. Wireless carriers, which have more capacity constraints, would not be subject to the restrictions, although they would have to disclose their network management practices.
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