Internet Discrimination is a 'Feature,' Not a Problem, Says FCC Chief

[Commentary] On Thursday, December 14, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a proposal to abolish net neutrality. People who care about rural America’s access to services and information should be concerned. Without net neutrality rules, consumers and the federal government have no way to prevent internet service providers from doing bad things to consumers until after the fact. And because there are no rules, how do you get providers to stop doing bad things to consumers and businesses? The stakes are higher for rural internet users, because rural areas have even less choice in internet service providers than urban residents do. Without net neutrality rules, broadband providers can set their own rules for paid prioritization (or “fast lanes”). They can create different pricing tiers or other forms of differentiated treatment for the services and content that happens to run over their network. They could cut a deal with one telehealth service to put their data in the fast lane and the competition’s in the slow lane. That puts the internet service provider in the role of helping determine where you get your medical treatment. Or it might mean consumers have to pay more to get “priority” (or faster) access to telehealth services. [Craig Settles is a broadband industry analyst, consultant to local governments]