WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A controversial proposal for Internet traffic rules that would allow providers to ration access to their networks is scheduled to come before communications regulators for a vote on Tuesday.

The rules would ban high-speed Internet providers like Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications from blocking lawful traffic, but are expected to acknowledge their need to manage network congestion and possibly charge consumers based on Internet usage.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan will likely attract the grudging support of his two fellow Democrats, analysts say, overcoming opposition from the agency’s two Republicans.

Items on the FCC’s agenda are sometimes withdrawn on late notice when agreement cannot be reached, but those following the issue think Democrats Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn will decide imperfect rules are better than no rules at all.

Copps wanted the FCC to reclassify Internet traffic under tougher rules applying to telephone service, while Clyburn has said she is uneasy about giving wireless Internet providers more freedom to manage their networks than wireline services.

The Republican commissioners have said they prefer that Internet traffic remain free of regulation.

“But I still think it’s more likely that they will work something out,” said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus and a former division chief at the FCC.

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will offer new programming targeted at African and Asian Americans if it is allowed to buy a majority stake in General Electric Co’s (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) NBC Universal, the company announced this week in agreements with civil rights groups.

The decision to boost diversity efforts comes as the company awaits approval from the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission to complete a proposed merger that would create a combined broadcast, cable, movie studio and theme parks business.

Comcast said in agreements filed with the FCC that it would add four new cable networks either owned or partly owned by African-Americans within eight years.

It would also expand an existing channel carrying Asian-American programming to more markets, or create a new English-language channel that caters to Asian-American interests.

In a letter to the FCC, the Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders said the joint venture between Comcast and NBCU would spur diversity “by increasing the participation of minorities in its news and public affairs programming and enhancing opportunities for minorities within its writing staff.”

An agreement was signed by Comcast and NBCU executives and civil rights groups including the NAACP, National Urban League and National Action Network, according to a memorandum of understanding between the groups and Comcast.

A separate agreement was signed by the Asian American Justice Center, East West Players, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Organization of Chinese Americans, and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Contentious Internet traffic rules facing a vote next week are likely to be adopted without radically veering from a proposal unveiled earlier in the month, telecommunications policy analysts said on Wednesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on December 21 on whether to adopt regulations that ban the blocking of lawful traffic but allow Internet service providers to ration Web traffic on their networks.

The proposal laid out two weeks ago by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was met with concern from the other members of the FCC, putting in question the likelihood of winning over a majority of the five-member FCC.

The two Republican commissioners have objected to FCC action on Internet rules, saying the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation. And Genachowski’s two fellow Democrats on the panel could withhold support from any measure they view as too weak.

But analysts said commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, the Democrats on the panel, are more likely to consider it in the majority’s interest to move ahead with so-called net neutrality rules.

“There aren’t really any better options for Copps and Clyburn than to support the chairman, despite their preference for tougher rules,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst with MF Global.

“After the November elections, the chairman’s room to maneuver on net neutrality got a lot narrower,” he added.

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Contentious Internet traffic rules facing a vote next week are likely to be adopted without radically veering from a proposal unveiled earlier in the month, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus said on Wednesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Dec. 21 to adopt regulations that ban the blocking of lawful traffic but allow Internet service providers to ration web traffic on their networks.

The proposal laid out two weeks ago by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was met with concern from the other members of the FCC, putting in question the likelihood of winning over a majority of the five-member FCC.

The two Republican commissioners have objected to FCC action on Internet rules, saying the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation. And Genachowski’s two fellow Democrats on the panel could withhold support from any measure they view as too weak.

But Stifel Nicolaus analysts said Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, the Democrats on the panel, are more likely to consider it in the majority’s interest to move ahead with so-called net neutrality rules.

Stifel Nicolaus is particularly plugged in to FCC developments, with analyst Rebecca Arbogast having previously been a division chief at the agency.

“Our sense is an order likely will be approved, with some modifications, but not radical changes, to the draft, given the tightrope the FCC leadership appears to be walking,” Stifel Nicolaus analysts said in a research note.

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Pushing for U.S. regulatory and congressional action to free up airwaves to handle the burgeoning use of wireless devices will be the top policy initiative of the consumer electronics industry in 2011, the head of a trade group said on Tuesday.

Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association, told reporters he would like to see next year’s Congress take quick action on spectrum reform.

Shapiro said telecommunications issues have traditionally been less partisan, and he believes Republican Representative Fred Upton, who will head the House Commerce and Energy Committee next year, intends to continue this bipartisan approach to the sector.

A looming spectrum crunch threatens to curb investments and halt innovation of new wireless devices at a time when more and more consumers are turning to mobile devices to surf the Web.

Some 77 million smartphones were shipped in the fall of 2010, while app downloads on phones like Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd’s (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) BlackBerry surged from 300 million in 2009 to 5 billion in 2010.

Consumers could face clogged networks, more dropped calls and slower connection speeds on wireless devices if the nation’s spectrum is not used more efficiently.

The Obama administration in June endorsed making 500 megahertz of spectrum available over the next 10 years to meet the growing demand for wireless services.

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) – The open Internet principles laid out by the top U.S. telecommunications regulator last week fall short of “real” net neutrality, more than 80 groups said in a letter on Friday.

Public interest groups, businesses and civil rights groups signed the letter to the Federal Communications Commission, saying net neutrality rules should ban paid prioritization of online content.

They also said the framework FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski laid out last week gave wireless carriers too much freedom to police Internet traffic.

“This is a make-or-break issue, and the signatories on this letter are unequivocal in their demand that fatal flaws with Chairman Genachowski’s draft proposal be fixed immediately,” Sascha Meinrath, director of New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative, said on Friday.

The FCC is scheduled to take up the contentious open Internet rules at its Dec. 21 meeting.

Genachowski last week proposed banning the blocking of lawful traffic but allowing Internet providers to manage network congestion and charge consumers based on Internet usage. [ID:nLDE6B00AB]

The rules would be more flexible for wireless broadband, Genachowski said, acknowledging that wireless is at an earlier stage of development than terrestrial Internet service.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – A plan to give wireless networks more flexibility than their landline counterparts in proposed Internet rules is being questioned by Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn.

In remarks prepared for a conference on Thursday, Clyburn said it was essential that wireless networks “grow in an open way just as our wired ones have.”

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last week laid out what he called “rules of the road” for preserving an open Internet for consumers while giving broadband providers flexibility to manage their networks. [ID:nLDE6B00AB]

His proposal would ban the blocking of lawful traffic while allowing Internet providers to manage network congestion and charge consumers based on Internet usage.

Genachowski said the rules should be more flexible for wireless broadband, reflecting that wireless is at an earlier stage of development than terrestrial Internet service.

But Clyburn told a telecommunications conference that she had concerns about the wireless aspects of the measure, worried that “two kinds of Internet worlds” could be created by giving concessions to wireless carriers.

Any toughening of the approach to wireless Internet could attract opposition from carriers like Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cable subscribers face higher costs, degraded service and fewer choices if U.S. regulators do not impose conditions on Comcast Corp’s bid to take control of NBC Universal, a key Democrat said on Tuesday in a letter to the top telecom regulator.

Regulators from the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission are reviewing the proposed merger that would create a $30 billion combined broadcast, cable, movie studio and theme parks business.

Representative Henry Waxman, head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday, urging him to impose conditions on the Comcast-NBCU merger that “protect consumers and promote competition.”

Conditions he would like to see include ensuring access to programing and channels owned by Comcast-NBCU for competing program distributors, and protection against unreasonable fees for smaller companies that lack market power.

Local NBC networks with popular shows such as “The Office” and “Parenthood” as well as leading networks like USA, Bravo and MSNBC are among the programing Comcast would own under the transaction.

“Moreover, the FCC should ensure that it puts in place a process to resolve negotiating impasses concerning program access without harming consumers,” Waxman said in the letter.

Retransmission disputes caught legislators’ attention last month after Cablevision Systems Corp failed to reach a timely programing deal with News Corp for Fox programing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Google Inc has won a share of a federal government contract that the company hopes will give it a boost over Microsoft Corp as they race to convert government agencies to cloud computing.

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a five-year, $6.7 million contract last week to Unisys Corp, with Google as a subcontractor — a relatively small dollar amount but an important initial foothold.

As part of the contract, Google and Unisys will transition the GSA, which basically serves as the back office for federal agencies, to a secure cloud-based platform that includes Google’s Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Sites applications.

The GSA is the first U.S. federal agency to make an agency-wide move to cloud computing, in which applications are delivered through a web browser to allow any time and anywhere access to information.

Consumers typically use cloud computing when online banking or shopping on sites like Amazon.com.

The GSA is a big win for Web search engine leader Google because the agency touches so many aspects of the federal government, potentially setting the company up for other federal agency contracts.

“It’s a real duel,” said Melissa Webster, program vice president for content and digital media technologies at market researcher IDC. “Microsoft is clearly in Google’s gun sights and… Google is a huge threat to Microsoft in lots of areas.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Google Inc won a share of a federal government contract last week that the company hopes will give it a boost over rival Microsoft Corp as they race to convert government agencies to cloud computing.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a five-year, $6.7 million (4.2 million pounds) contract to Unisys Corp and its subcontractor Google — a relatively small dollar amount but an important initial foothold.

As part of the contract, Google and Unisys will transition the GSA, which basically serves as the back office for federal agencies, to a secure cloud-based platform that includes Google’s Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Sites applications.

GSA is the first U.S. federal agency to make a agency wide “move to the cloud.”

Cloud computing is computing over the Internet, in which applications are delivered through a web browser, allowing any time and anywhere access to information.

Consumers typically use cloud computing when online banking or shopping on sites like Amazon.com.

The GSA is a big win for Web search engine leader Google because the agency touches so many aspects of the federal government, potentially setting the company up for other federal agency contracts.