By Sean CaptainAt long last, the Federal Communications Commission has released the full version of the net neutrality rules it approved (3 to 2) on Feb. 26 — all 400 pages of them. The first few pages contain no surprises for anyone who has been following the issue at all. They include rules against blocking and slowing Internet traffic and ban "fast lanes" for content providers who pay for better access, among other things.
But devils and angels are in the details. For example, Netflix still has to pay for a fast connection to your ISP, and now the FCC has some responsibility for your online privacy. Here are five lesser-known parts of the FCC net neutrality regulations that directly affect you. Except for a few exceptions, these rules apply equally to wired ISPs (such as Comcast) and wireless ISPs (like T-Mobile).
1. Netflix still has to pay for a fast connection to your ISP
The FCC said that its expertise is in what happens inside an ISP, not in what happens when ISPs connect to the larger "backbone" companies that link ISPs around the world. But the so-called interconnections could be the next battleground for net neutrality.
In May 2014, an executive at mega-backbone-provider Level 3 asserted that five American ISPs and one European ISP were deliberately maintaining poor, outdated connections to Level 3, creating artificial congestion for Internet traffic coming into the network.
To get around such congestion into an ISP, real or manufactured, Netflix and other content companies are building their own direct connections into Comcast, Verizon and other ISPs. Essentially, Netflix has built its own small piece of the Internet backbone, just for Netflix. In essence, Netflix is picking up the cost of getting content into your ISP, but you are are still paying full freight.
Today's regulations don't directly address any chokeholds or discrimination upstream that ISPs might provide at the interconnections. But the rules do set up a complaint process so content providers like can challenge ISPs in hearings before the FCC.
2. The government has no say over your broadband bills.
Lots of people complain about high fees for their Internet service, including wireless plans, but the FCC won't help those individuals out. Despite charges by opponents of net neutrality that the FCC would oversee rates for Internet access the way governments do for utilities like electricity or water, the FCC's plan clearly refutes that. "We expressly eschew the future use of prescriptive, industry-wide rate regulation," states the document.
3. ISPs have to reveal nearly every detail of plans and pricing.
This is not new, per se, but the FCC has strengthened its authority under its transparency requirement to make sure you know everything about an ISP. Here are the major categories of information that ISPs must release:
Price: full monthly service charge, promotional rates, how long the promotions last and what the rate goes up to after the promotion expires.
Other fees: one-time or recurring fees, such as modem rental fees, installation fees, service charges and early termination fees.
Data caps and allowances: any restrictions on how much data you can use and what happens if you exceed that limit, such as extra charges or loss of service.
Performance: ISPs have to reveal real access speeds, latency (how long it takes packets to arrive) and if the service works for real-time applications (such as Skype). This requirement extends to specific technologies. If AT&T or Verizon claims the country's fastest LTE network, the company needs proof.
4. Your school or café isn't covered by the rules.
The FCC specified that its net neutrality rules do not apply to locations that provide Internet access — such as coffee shops, bookstores, airlines, libraries and universities — affirming a policy it's had for years. Net neutrality rules protect "end users," which these locations are. The regulations say nothing about how those end users dole out service, whether it's free or paid, to others.
5. The FCC now has (some) authority over online privacy
Private data is leaking all over the place, from health care companies like Anthem to banks like Citibank and stores like Target. Now the FCC will keep an eye on how data is collected and stored by ISPs, using a legal provision called Section 222 within Title II of the Communications Act. (Title II is the basis for the FCC's new authority over ISPs.)
As the regulations state, "Among other things, section 222 imposes a duty on every telecommunications carrier to take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of its customers' proprietary information." As an example of a violation, the FCC referenced an action it took against two companies that stored unencrypted customer information on publicly accessible servers.
The FCC's new powers won't prevent the NSA or FBI from snooping on you. Requests by law enforcement are exempt from the privacy regulations, but the rules could affect the dossier that Time Warner Cable or AT&T can keep on your online activities.
- 5 Freedoms You'll Lose Without Net Neutrality (Op-Ed)
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