The FCC on the Future of the Internet
On September 25, Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, made a Internet policy speech regarding the role of the Federal government in future developments of America’s Internet. The primary purpose of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, is to design and implement policies regarding America’s radio, television, and Internet infrastructure. Genachowski’s speech outlined the FCC’s primary areas of concern: “to drive improvements in broadband infrastructure and accessibility, to lower the cost of building out that infrastructure, and to deploy more spectrum fairly and effectively.”
The Internet is a heterogeneous network of personal computers, industrial servers, mobile devices, networked home appliances, and everything else with a network card. Everything and everyone is getting connected to the Internet, and the rapidly increasing demand for high-bandwidth services such as VoIP and video conferencing services has made clear the need for a faster and more reliable Internet.
The boom in Internet commerce has made the Internet a vital part of our economy, and reliability has become essential for companies that operate primarily via the Internet. Genachowski highlights this changing economic landscape, saying that “innovations in recent years have caused demand for broadband services to explode, putting pressure on Internet infrastructure.” While no detailed plans were revealed, Genachowski made it clear that the FCC plans to assume a larger role in future developments in the Internet.
While the Internet is a vital part of a nations infrastructure, the government has historically had little control over its development. The FCC has not held a significant role in the development of today’s Internet, and Genachowski’s speech has raised concerns over the Federal Government’s apparent intentions to exercise greater control over the development and regulation of America’s Internet.
While Genachowski’s policies seem to be a step in the right direction towards a faster, more stable, and wider reaching Internet, proponents of net neutrality argue that the government is trying to control the Internet, and argue that this is a bad thing since the Internet has been very successful as a “free market” despite lacking the central government control like the utilities and transportation networks that form the rest of America’s infrastructure. The conflicting opinions regarding how much control the government should have over the Internet demonstrates the political challenges of implementing a global network.
Sources:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/25/3405808/fcc-chairman-julius-genachowski-broadband-us-speech
-Hat