Net Fix: Title II, the two words that terrify the broadband industry

Title II, a provision in the country's 81-year-old telecommunications law, could be used to tighten regulations on the telecommunications and cable industries. Here's why they're not happy about it.

For starters, there's Section 201, which gives the Federal Communications Commission the right to dictate the prices Internet service providers can charge for their services. The providers fear the FCC may set rates too low to allow them to recoup the costs associated with building out their networks. That, in turn, would deter them from making future investments, they argue. If the FCC gets its way, Internet service will fall under the same centuries-old principle that has been applied to everything from shipping lanes to roller coasters: common carriage. Uncertainty about the FCC's rules has unsettled broadband providers. "The whole market is on tenterhooks wondering what's happening," said Steven Shepard, a Director of Educational Programs at USC's business school. A little bit of clarity will go a long way to settling the industry's nerves, no matter the outcome.