AT&T deal lays groundwork for net neutrality legislation

When we last reported on the sticky issue of net neutrality, the outgoing 109th Congress had failed to pass any legislation either allowing or barring the practice of network-wide packet prioritization. Since then, little has changed from a legislative point of view, although there has been an important twist in the FCC's dealings with AT&T that could have a profound effect on network neutrality in the United States. As part of their bid to complete an $86 billion merger with BellSouth, the telecom giant has agreed to abide by a set of network neutrality guidelines for at least 30 months after the closure of the merger. The FCC's agreement with AT&T could lay out the blueprint for future net neutrality provisions and ultimately, laws. "The agreement once and for all puts to rest the bogus argument that no one can define Net neutrality," said Ben Scott, policy director for the advocacy group Free Press, who you may know from their "Save the Internet" campaign. A number of network neutrality bills are currently in the works; a few could make their way to the floor in within a matter of months.

For more on the current state of net neutrality:
- see this CNET article