FCC Says Will Act on Web Neutrality If Needed

CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The head of the U.S.Federal Communications Commission said on Monday he is "ready,willing and able" to stop broadband providers that unreasonablyinterfere with subscribers’ access to Internet content.

The comment by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin came at the startof a day-long FCC hearing centering on allegations that somebroadband providers such as telecommunications and cablecompanies have been improperly blocking or hindering somecontent.

"I think it’s important to understand that the commissionis ready, willing and able to step in if necessary to correctany (unreasonable) practices that are ongoing today," Martinsaid.

The dispute over so-called "network neutrality" pitsopen-Internet advocates against some service providers such asComcast Corp, who say they need to take reasonablesteps to manage traffic on their networks.

Martin acknowledged that broadband network operators have alegitimate need to manage the data flowing over their networks.But he said that "does not mean that they can arbitrarily blockaccess to particular applications or services."

The hearing, which included testimony from officials withComcast and Verizon, is aimed at determining whatnetwork management techniques are reasonable.

Martin called for "transparency" in the way the companiesmanage their networks, and in the prices and services theyprovide.

The network neutrality dispute has been spotlighted by aseries of incidents in which operators were accused ofhindering certain online data moving over their networks, suchas file-sharing or text-messaging.

The issue also has attracted the attention of lawmakers inCongress, who are weighing a net-neutrality bill introducedlast week.

In the most recent example, the FCC has been looking intocomplaints by consumer groups that Comcast has blocked somefile-sharing services which are used to distribute largedigital media files such as TV shows and movies.

In comments filed with the FCC, Comcast told regulatorsthat it uses reasonable measures to manage traffic moving overits network, as some of its customers overwhelm the network byusing file-sharing applications like BitTorrent.

Comcast, which is the second-largest U.S. Internet serviceprovider with more than 13 million subscribers, said the use ofnetwork management was essential to avoid congestion andimpairment of some applications. The company denied that itblocks content, applications or discriminates among providers.

Internet service providers are looking at different ways ofmanaging the increasing amount of traffic moving across theirnetworks both for cost management and for quality of servicereasons.

Critics have argued that imposing network neutralityregulations on the Internet would hinder development of theInternet by creating uncertainty for investors and Internetservice providers.(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Cambridge and PeterKaplan in Washington; editing by Tim Dobbyn)