Policy: Open Letter to the FCC

The FCC has established an email address (openinternet@fcc.gov) for public comments on their Open Internet proposal.  I sent the letter below.  All comments become official FCC proceeding documents, so they are publicly available via the web.



FCC Commissioners,

My name is Omari Christian and I'm a software engineer.  I have read and written a lot about net neutrality and I am very concerned about Tom Wheeler's new proposed rules for broadband.  Particularly troublesome is giving Internet service providers (ISPs) leeway to charge content providers in a manner that is "commercially reasonable."  There is no amount of money that is commercially reasonable. Once an ISP is allowed to charge providers for faster or better access to users, ISPs will become the arbiters of which businesses succeed on the Internet and which businesses will fail.  The business that will succeed will, of course, be partners of said ISPs and also a few large corporations that can afford the new ISP tolls.  This cannot happen.  This will break the way the Internet has always worked.  It will hinder the free market spirit of the Internet.  It will diminish free speech by hindering one of the most popular methods of communication.

Net neutrality is good for free speech and good for the US economy.  It helps small businesses.  And allowing ISPs to charge content providers for access to Internet consumers is not net neutrality.

There are several things that the FCC can do to make sure the Internet stays open.  First and foremost, the FCC must classify broadband Internet as a telecommunications service (i.e. a common carrier).  This will give the FCC power to regulate ISPs like other common carriers.  Secondly, the FCC should make sure wording includes mobile carriers.  Mobile users are becoming a larger part of total Internet users every day and they may one day become the majority, if they haven't already.  Mobile Internet is part of the Internet.  And, thusly, mobile providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon included) are also Internet service providers.

Lastly, the most effective way to make sure broadband Internet is keep fast and open is to declare it a public utility, like water and electricity.  This may be difficult to square with mobile providers, but it can certainly be done with cable and DSL ISPs.  Just like electricity and water, broadband Internet is expensive to rollout to neighborhoods and costly to maintain.  Most areas only have one or two providers because of this natural monopoly.  Fast Internet service has become a necessity in this day and age, becoming one of the most efficient ways to do business, communicate with friends, and disseminate information.

Let's keep the Internet free and open for everyone.  Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,
Omari Christian