Court Rules for Comcast in Net Neutrality DebateCourt Rules for Comcast in Net Neutrality Debate

How carriers operate their Internet networks became a hot topic a few years ago when Comcast started to try and reign in bandwidth hogs. The federal government had put the kibosh on the companys plans but the courts have now sided with the carrier in a contentious debate with no resolution in sight.The Internet started as an All You Can Eat model where customers could use as much bandwidth as needed for a set monthly fee. As Internet traffic evolved from text to items, such as voice and video, carriers wanted to alter this model. They started to put mechanisms in place to differentiate network transmissions, possibly leading to charging users by their bandwidth usage or limiting the amount of information that they send each month. Comcast began to experiment with ways to differentiate how it treated different users in late 2006. A variety of corporations, such as Google, and special interests groups decried the changes. The FCC heard their voices, stepped in, and outlawed the practice in August 2008.

The United States Court of Appeals ruled that the agency had overstepped its bounds. What happens next is anyones guess. Chances are good that the FCC will appeal the courts decision. Whether or not the government agency and Comcast can reach a compromise in the interim is unclear at the moment.

The court rulings do not have a direct impact on small and medium businesses. However, a long term ripple effect is possible. Many companies are moving to cloud computing services. The vendors offering these services are high use Internet users, and carriers, such as Comcast, may start charging them more for their Internet use. Because a clear resolution does not imminent, it is difficult to predict anything other than a few more chapters will be written in this contentious tale.