Lawmakers Respond to Net Neutrality Proceedings
In response to the FCC's announcement to seek further comment on net neutrality issues, key lawmakers pushed their agenda on Internet regulation.
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski should put his plans to reclassify broadband "on the shelf indefinitely," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the ranking member on the Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee. Ensign affirmed his commitment to working with colleagues, the FCC, and industry, to "establish light-touch policies that will protect consumers, will foster innovation and investment and will safeguard the open Internet."
Ensign staunchly opposes Genachowski's proposal to reclassify parts of broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, a more stringent regulatory regime. The FCC unveiled the proposal last spring after a court case cast into doubt the commission's authority to regulate on Internet-related matters. Genachowski says he would exempt broadband from the more onerous provisions of Title II such as price controls characterizing his plan as "the third way."
"The two issues on which the FCC is seeking additional public comment - managed services and mobile broadband - are vital elements for ensuring a free and open Internet," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said. "I continue to believe that discriminatory fast lanes or tiers that slow down certain content would dim the future of the Internet to the detriment of consumers, competition, job creation and the free-flow of ideas."
Markey, a co-author of net-neutrality legislation, called on the FCC to proceed with the third way reclassification if Congress fails to legislate clarification on the FCC's authority this month.
Verizon, which put out a joint plan with Google to serve as a starting point for Internet regulation legislation, also called on the Hill to act. "It remains clear that whatever action the FCC takes will be clouded by legal uncertainty until the Congress enacts legislation that spells out the authority of the FCC and establishes a broadband policy," said Tom Tauke, head of Verizon's public affairs.
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