Sponsored Data or Not, FCC Commissioners Say They're Committed to an Open Web

The Federal Communications Commission remains committed to protecting the open internet in the face of public and private challenges, four FCC commissioners said today during a panel at CES. The statements came as response to a question from moderator Tony Romm, who questioned whether the FCC would take action in response to AT&T's controversial Sponsored Data program announced earlier this week.

"Options. One of the things we talk about in the open internet is transparency," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "You want options, transparency, competition."

AT&T's plan allows developers and websites to pay for user's bandwidth, in effect subsidizing data costs for users who use their products. It's more incentive based than pay-for-play; users only get data counted against their data cap if they use services that aren't part of AT&T's sponsorship program, which would be the case regardless.

But net neutrality advocates say the move erodes the long-held principle that all data be treated the same by providers. Losing a neutral net would be anti-competitive: Smaller content creators run the risk of being pushed out of the market by competitors who can afford to pay for preferential bandwidth access.

AT&T's move follows a similar proposal from Verizon, which met pushback from the FCC; the two have been involved in a months-long battle in federal court, a ruling for which is expected shortly. AT&T's program adds further pressure to the FCC, for opponents say the plan takes advantage of a loophole in FCC regulations that leaves wireless networks out of rules requiring ISPs to not give preferential treatment to some services over others.

With that in mind, the FCC commissioners were noncommittal in response to Romm's prodding about potential regulatory changes.

"This proposal is literally days old, and we need to establish a regulatory framework that allows experimentation with different business models," said Commissioner Ajit Pai. "The FCC shouldn't be a priori declaring business models like this out of bounds."

That sentiment was echoed by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at an earlier panel, where he said the commission would wait to see how AT&T's plan shakes out. If it does turn out to be anti-competitive, he said, the agency would be ready to "intervene."

At the later panel, which largely focused on the delayed H Block spectrum auction, the FCC commissioners said it's impossible to comment directly on net neutrality issues until the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issues its ruling on the Verizon case.

"I'm sure we're going to have a lot of conversations about the open internet going forward," said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel​.

@derektmead