The FCC’s recent proposal to reform the system by which long distance companies pay telcos to use their networks devotes only a few paragraphs to the Internet – but will affect every Internet user in the country.
The FCC has “tentatively concluded” that ISPs shouldn’t have to pay interstate access fees, which are the per-minute rates long distance companies pay telephone companies to route calls.
Citing “the potentially detrimental effects on the growth of evolving information services industry,” the FCC has proposed that the current system – in which ISPs pay per line rather than by usage – remain in place. This could save you megabucks, as ISPs would be forced to pass on the much higher per-minute rates to their customers.
The Bell companies are preparing to fight the FCC proposal, arguing that ISPs should pay more of the freight. Pacific Bell, for example, estimates that Internet usage will represent 25 percent of its traffic by 2000. US West puts the number at 30 percent.
Telcos argue that more people are going online, staying online longer, and creating major bandwidth jams. This requires network upgrades that translate into higher local telephone rates. So in the end, it may not be a matter of whether you pay for the bells and whistles of cyberspace, but where you pay for them.
The capacity problem has only worsened with the growing popularity of flat-rate Internet access pricing, which encourages gluttonous Internet usage. The telcos compare all of this to a bunch of brats joyriding on a toll road for free while everyone else pays. And the FCC hasn’t shown any interest in playing traffic cop – at least not yet.
The FCC has set up an email address where netizens can submit “informal comments.” The comment period ends 27 January.
