Representative From Rochester Proposes Bill Giving FTC Power Over ISP Usage Caps
Category: InternetPosted: June 18, 2009 02:31PM
Author: CheeseMan42
Eric Massa of my own city of Rochester, where Time Warner intended to experiment with bandwidth caps, has drafted legislation that could prevent such actions from ever being taken. The bill would treat ISPs as utilities and would give the Federal Trade Commission regulatory power over them. Massa was contacted by many of his constituents who complained about the bill, including many business owners who said the increase in costs would drastically decrease their profits. In order to implement usage caps, ISPs will need to justify the cost based on equipment and operational costs. However, with many high speed internet companies offering cable television as well, Massa fears that they will use the caps to drive people to purchase the cable offerings in addition to the internet. This would make it all to possible for monopolies to develop in areas where only one ISP is present, which is exactly what Massa wishes to prevent.
