• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, January 2, 2007

In a bid to gain approval for its $86 billion merger with BellSouth, AT&T has agreed to support the principles of Net neutrality for the next two years. That is, AT&T has agreed it won't block or slow down access to Web sites, or otherwise discriminate against certain Web publishers.

On one hand, what's remarkable isn't that AT&T agreed to support Net neutrality, but that this support is being viewed as a major concession.

Consider, the FCC itself in August of 2005 came out with a statement in support of Net neutrality. Regulators also say they have the power to enforce neutrality principles, should Internet service providers like AT&T violate them--even without new laws.

In fact, some legislators have argued that laws enshrining Net neutrality principles are unnecessary, because the authorities already are empowered to go after companies that violate those principles.

Although Net neutrality legislation stalled last year, some advocates hope that a Democratic-controlled Congress will be more likely to pass laws banning Internet service providers from degrading service or blocking consumers from accessing certain sites.

Still, AT&T's offer--wrung from the telecom by FCC Democrats--is seen as a victory for Net neutrality advocates. The Wall Street Journal today says that other telecoms may well feel that they, too, must abide by neutrality principle. While not binding on other companies, AT&T seems to have set the standard by which other telecoms will be judged for the next several years.