License all ISP’s.
All Internet service providers seeking to connect subscribers to the internet should have public interest obligations. Mandate that they must provide local news and information just as in prior era Broadcasters were required to provide news and information. Regulate net-neutrality via this vehicle as well.
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fccdev
commented
I agree with this in nature, but would prefer to broaden the scope to me more inclusive of the community's voice and less reliant on the ISP's management. I think that we should give incentives for ISPs to optimize local traffic between neighbors, as well as prioritize hardening local IP communication infrastructure in the event that it is disconnected from the rest of the world. This would remove many of the costs associated with 'providing news,' and get people running their own local services (fire departments and rural governments would greatly benefit). A 'lifeline service' equivalent for local service would be nice to see as well.
Overall, I think this would bring us back to an era of healthy trusted peering, and may be a good non-legislative solution to maintaining a healthy balance between the telcos. This could also alleviate a lot of strain on the FCC regarding both rural broadband and market issues, letting them focus on more serious issues like stable communications, hardware approval and spectrum allocation. Local governments could enact license and taxation on local commercial service offerings, but I don't think it would be wise to head down the path of licensing service providers. This is not to say, we shouldn't hold large capacity networks to agreements made during an incentive period, but we don't want to scare off large lobbying organizations right off the bat.
