USIIA Calls for Broadband Industry Self-Regulation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with its recent order deregulating DSL line sharing, and recent Supreme Court decisions have made it clear that the government plans to remain on the sidelines with regard to regulating the broadband industry.

With that in mind, the U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA) responded today with the release of a white paper, "Principles for Broadband and IP Services," that sets forth 10 self-regulatory principles for broadband and IP-based services.

The principles, according to USIIA President David P. McClure, should serve as "building blocks" for a self-regulating broadband industry.

"They were created such that the industry looks at this and says, 'Yes, this is a good way that we want to do business," McClure told TMCnet in an interview today.

The 10 principles are as follows: 

1. Consumers are entitled to access legal content of their choice within the parameters of their service plans;

2. Consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement; 

3. Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal services that do not harm the network;

4. Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers; 

5. Consumers have the right to information and services necessary to assist in protecting their broadband and IP services from unwanted content, including but not limited to spam, spyware, adware, and content unsuitable for minors;

6. Network providers are entitled to interconnect with broadband transport services and other network providers through agreements and commercial contracts based on volume, terms, points of connection and other established market parameters; 

7. Network providers are entitled to offer vertically integrated broadband access and applications;

8. Network providers are entitled to offer proprietary services to their customers, so long as the provision of such services does not interfere with the customer's right to access content and run applications of their choice; 

9. Network providers are entitled to offer managed services to their customers; and

10. Network providers are entitled to operate on the same basis as other network providers in the same market without interference from local governments or political subdivision.

If the first four principles sound familiar, it's because they were already adopted by the FCC in a policy statement released, not so coincidentally, on the same day that it released its DSL order.

"The [FCC] policy statement itself was unremarkable," McClure writes in the white paper.  "What is striking about this policy, and the issues that it addresses, is that the government is so deeply involved in the minutiae of management of the broadband industry."

McClure continues:

"Issues and problems that are more normally addressed through contracts or self-governance within the industry – and relatively minor competitive squabbles – have been elevated to the level of national policy because the broadband Internet has no governance system of its own."

McClure ultimately calls for an industry trade association, akin to the legal field's bar association, that would adopt policies and principles, serve as the agent of conflict resolution and act as a point of reference for the industry.

One major hurdle facing the broadband industry is that its members have never joined forces before.

"The industry is made up of so many diverse and disparate roots that never had to work together . . . even though in the last decade it would have been in their best interests to do so," McClure told TMCnet.

That's not to say that if the USIIA achieves its goal, government will not play a major role in shaping broadband policy.

"There are roles that the government will fill, such as figuring out county and city franchise cable and cable broadband," McClure told TMCnet.  "That would be a monumental job for the government to dismantle [the franchise rights]."  

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Ted Glanzer is assistant editor for TMCnet. For more articles by Ted Glanzer, please visit:
http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100033&nm=Ted%20Glanzer

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