I've just been watching the open FCC meeting online. The big items so far were (1) reclassifying wireless broadband access as an information service, and (2) opening a Notice of Inquiry on network neutrality.

Commrs. Copps and Adelstein seem to feel they are in the uncomfortable position of having to vote for things that they don't really believe in. Making wireless broadband an information service throws us (over and over again) into the featureless soup of Title I as the FCC makes rules about the most important economic engine of our time — the internet. We've never had a national debate about whether the Commission should be in the business of making rules for the internet. It's just happening, through deference, design, and Congressional inactivity. Copps expressed some of this, pointing out that the "indeterminate Title I limbo doesn't amount to certainty" for investors, businesses, or end-users. And Adelstein noted somewhat sourly that no one had asked for this regulatory re-classification.

Commr. McDowell made some very effective points about the Notice of Inquiry on network neutrality. Sure, there's concern that an NOI just puts things on the back burner — but no one has filed any NN complaints or petitions for rulemakings. So this is the time to gather information about what's going on. Adelstein said the true thing: of course network providers are on their best behavior now, but we should be concerned about their public statements and their clear intent to discriminate.

At any rate, it's to be hoped that there will be a lot of energy devoted to getting useful empirical information to the FCC in response to the NOI. One enormously important point to be made: We have no idea what's happening inside these networks because they're all proprietary. No researchers are allowed in. So how can we know whether discrimination short of outright blocking is actually happening?