Normally, FCC issues are left to the PFF blog side of the operation, not addressed on IPCentral.Info.

But issues seem to be converging. On March 22, the FCC announced an Inquiry into Broadband Market Practices. The press release (there is nothing in the Fed Reg yet) refers to the Commission's 2005 Internet Policy Statement and seeks comment on "whether [it] should incorporate a new principle of nondiscrimination and, if so, how would 'nondiscrimination' be defined, and how would such a principle read."

One of the four specific questions raised: "Whether our policies should distinguish between content providers that charge end users for access to content and those that do not."

The accompanying statement of the Chairman says:

The intent of these principles was to protect consumers’ access to the lawful online content of their choice and to foster the creation, adoption and use of Internet broadband content, applications, and services. . . . This inquiry will provide a convenient forum for various providers, including network and content providers, to tell us what is happening in the market and about their concerns. . . . . . We have the dual responsibilities of creating an environment that promotes infrastructure investment and broadband deployment and to ensure that consumers' access to content on the Internet is protected.

So it looks like content producers better bone up on their FCC procedure. Based on the tales told by my colleagues, I would not bet that the experience will be a happy one.