Net Firms Applaud Broadband Move
May 6, 2010
| 4:01 PM
A group of Internet companies including Amazon, eBay, Google, Skype and Sling Media wrote FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Thursday to voice their support for his decision to designate some aspects of broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service.
The move comes after last month's U.S. appeals court decision that found the FCC had overstepped its authority when it tried to enforce its open Internet principles against broadband provider Comcast for cutting off access to a file-sharing service. Those who favor network neutrality rules that would bar such practices said the only way the FCC could protect consumers and fully implement its national broadband plan aimed at expanding access and adoption of high-speed Internet services would be to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. Internet services are currently classified as an information service.
FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick said Thursday that the commission would launch a proceeding that would seek to apply a limited number of the Title II provisions to broadband.
In their letter to Genachowski, about a dozen firms that also are members of the Open Internet Coalition said they applauded the "middle-ground approach" he has chosen to pursue. "We share your belief that this course will create a legally sound, light-touch regulatory framework that benefits consumers, technology companies, and broadband Internet access providers," the letter said. "This framework will ensure that consumers have access to an open Internet, one that would preserve a level playing field for all participants."
Broadband providers and some congressional Republicans including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and others blasted Genachowski's move.
"There is no economic or legal justification for this move and the result will be a freeze in the tremendous investment and innovation we have seen over the past two decades," House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said in a statement, adding such changes should be implemented by Congress not the FCC.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, argued that the FCC is making its move because it knows it can't get "far-reaching and costly 'net-neutrality' legislation through Congress. Enough is Enough. The government needs to keep its hands off the Internet so it can prosper and grow, benefiting consumers and our economy alike."
National Cable and Telecommunications Association President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow added that, "We firmly believe that the case for new regulation of the Internet has not been made. Today's competitive and dynamic broadband marketplace already operates according to openness principles that have broad industry consensus and serve consumers well."
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