The US' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reportedly set to approve Net neutrality rules after the agency's two Democratic commissioners announced that they would vote in support of the order.
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps will reportedly vote in favour of the FCC's Net neutrality rules at the open commission meeting scheduled for December 21, 2010. According to an FCC official, the commissioners had some suggestions about how to improve the first draft. Some of these have been incorporated into the rules to satisfy their concerns.
In a statement, Commissioner Clyburn has said that the Commission has worked tirelessly to offer a set of guidelines that, while not as strong as they could be, will nonetheless protect consumers as they explore, learn and innovate online.
However, Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith A. Baker have expressed their concern with the rules.
Since Chairman Julius Genachowski backs the rules, favoruable votes from Clyburn and Copps are enough to pass the motion by a vote of 3 is to 2.
The full text of the Net neutrality rules will not be released immediately because of the opposition from McDowell and Baker. A one-page summary will instead be made available for interested parties to view. According to an FCC official, standard procedure requires that the FCC respond to dissenting views. This is will take several days to pull together and publish, he said.
The order is expected to provide three high-level rules - robust transparency requirements that apply to fixed broadband and wireless providers; a no-blocking rule that bans the blocking of lawful content and apps or services for fixed broadband providers and bans the blocking of websites or apps that compete with broadband providers' voice or video telephony services for mobile providers; and a no unreasonable discrimination rule for fixed broadband providers.
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