The US Federal Communications Commission late last week launched an inquiry into so called ‘net neutrality’.

The investigation will serve to allow the regulator to better understand the behaviour of participants in the broadband services market.

The Commission will investigate how broadband providers are managing internet traffic on their networks today; whether providers charge different prices for different speeds or capacities of service; whether FCC policies should distinguish between content providers that charge end users for access to content and those that do not; and how consumers are affected by these practices.

Most importantly, the FCC will seek further comment on a principle of nondiscrimination and, if so, how “nondiscrimination” should be defined.

In the US, net neutrality focuses on the issue of whether network operators should be able to charge internet content firms such as Google to give their services priority over others.