FCC's Copps renews call for a network non-discrimination principle
As first reported by Broadcasting & Cable and confirmed by multiple other sources, in a breakfast-time speech last Friday before a conference of cable TV executives, the acting chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission called once again for the drafting of an amendment of sorts to its 2005 policy framework (PDF available here), adding one new principle to its existing list of four. The "Fifth Principle," as it may come to be known for years hence, would explicitly mandate that carriers provide non-discriminatory Internet access to all available services and applications.
The origins of the "Fifth Principle," as well as the belief that one was needed in the first place, dates back to the debate over the 2006 re-merger of AT&T with its own former "Baby Bell," BellSouth. While many lawmakers were debating how best to avoid the topic of addressing the efficacy of the merger, some were drafting proposed laws that would prevent the merged entity from disabling access to competitive services through its own network.