FCC report: Net neutrality important to rural residents

The U.S. must preserve an open Internet in order to bring the full benefit of broadband to rural areas of the U.S., a Federal Communications Commission report on rural broadband said.

Without net neutrality protections, broadband users won't see as much innovation as possible on the Internet, said the report, released Wednesday by FCC acting Chairman Michael Copps.

"The ... network effects of ubiquitous broadband will not be realized if consumers are all constrained by careful bundling, packaging, and discriminatory practices that whittle away the end-to-end structure of the public Internet," the report said. “'Openness'” is not just another bromide, but a principle we must tenaciously preserve. The value of open networks is not a novel concept, but the Commission must act to ensure that the genius of the open Internet is not lost."

Net neutrality rules are particularly important for rural broadband subscribers who may have only one provider, Copps said in the report. The FCC should "establish a systematic, expeditious, case-by-case process for adjudicating claims of [network] discrimination," the report said.

A spokeswoman for Comcast, a large broadband provider, declined to comment on the report.

But Dean Brenner, vice president of government affairs at mobile chipset maker Qualcomm, praised the report, saying it correctly recognizes wireless broadband as a way to serve rural areas. The FCC estimates in the report that wireless broadband service covers nearly 96 percent of the entire U.S. population, but only 83 percent of the rural population.

The report also suggests that existing programs to provide voice service subsidies to poor people be expanded to include broadband devices, and Brenner applauded that recommendation.

"Overall, we think this is a terrific piece of work by the FCC," he said.

The number of rural U.S. residents without broadband is not clear, the report said, but a significantly smaller percentage of rural residents subscribe to broadband than urban or suburban residents. Broadband could be a major driver of the economy in rural areas, the report said.

"The benefits of broadband extend particularly to small businesses in rural areas," the report said. "With broadband, running a small web-based business in a rural location becomes a reality. Craftspeople, particularly those with a national or international following, can deal directly with their customers -- quickly and without expensive middlemen. Local tourism authorities can more effectively market their attractions to potential visitors."

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