The FCC's net neutrality rules got a breather Monday as Verizon and MetroPCS's early challenges to the controversial limits on wireless service were thrown out by a federal appeals court on a technicality.
Verizon, the nation's largest mobile provider, and MetroPCS, a distant fifth place carrier, filed lawsuits in January against new rules that prohibit mobile carriers from blocking and degrading websites for 3G and 4G customers.
Those suits were thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., however, because the rules have not yet gone into effect. The net neutrality rules, adopted just before Christmas, don't achieve the force of law until they are published in the Federal Register. The FCC has not said when that will happen, and the court agreed with the FCC that the rules can't be contested legally until then.
The companies argued that the rules were unfair, in part because they imposed rules retroactively on spectrum the companies had already rented at auction. While the strongest portions of the net neutrality rules apply only to "fixed" broadband such as cable and DSL connections, the rules do prohibit mobile carriers from blocking access to websites or "blocking applications that compete with the provider’s voice or video telephony services, subject to reasonable network management."
MetroPCS unveiled new data plans in January that seemingly violate the rule by giving preferential treatment to YouTube and by prohibiting all VOIP calls via services such as Skype.
But, the decision (.pdf) is surely just a temporary reprieve, and as soon as the rules are published officially, expect a long line at the court house for companies to file objections.
Photo: Recycling bin. Credit: [F]oxymoron
See Also:- Verizon Files Suit Against FCC Net Neutrality Rules
