NYTimes.com:
SAN FRANCISCO — Google and Verizon on Monday introduced a proposal for how Internet service should be regulated — and were immediately criticized by groups that favor keeping the network as open as possible.
The proposal includes exceptions for wireless Internet access and for potential new services that broadband providers could offer, including things like “advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options.”
The announcement is the latest move in a high-stakes battle over a principle known as net neutrality. The debate is over whether Internet users should be able to access all types of online information on an equal basis, or whether Internet service providers should be able to charge content companies for faster transmission.
The proposal says that nonwireless Internet providers should not be able to discriminate against or offer paid prioritization to any Internet content providers, and that the Federal Communications Commission should have the authority to stop or fine those who break these rules.
But the proposal excludes wireless access, a fast-growing portion of Internet traffic.
The proposal “sacrifices the future of the mobile wireless Internet as this platform becomes more central to the lives of all Americans,” said Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a consumer group, in a statement. ...
