The response to FCC Chairman Julius Genechowski’s plan to formalize net neutrality policy came swiftly last week, with reaction ranging from objective analysis to praise to condemnation.
On Sept. 22, Genachowski said he wants to solidify the FCC’s existing principles – guidelines affirming that consumers must be able to access lawful Internet content, applications and services and attach non-harmful devices to the network – and expand them. Genachowski wants to apply those principles to wireless networks and, further, add verbiage to prevent ISPs from discriminating against certain Internet content or applications, while allowing for reasonable network management. He also wants to ensure Internet access providers are transparent about their network management.
A short time after Genachowski announced his intent, people spun into action. One lawmaker, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, went so far as to immediately insert an amendment into an unrelated appropriations bill; the addition would have blocked FCC funding for implementing net neutrality regulations.
However, Hutchison’s efforts were short-lived. Genachowski’s staff met with Hutchison and the other five Republicans who supported her amendment. That meeting persuaded the lawmakers to withdraw the amendment and continue talking with the FCC.
Meanwhile, other groups and companies got down to the business of distributing their opinions. Here are some snapshots of industry reaction:
"We will proceed with an open mind, but we also believe the bar needs to be set very high when it comes to additional government interventions that could potentially disrupt the tremendous innovation and investment that have defined U.S. broadband for the past several years under the FCC’s existing open Internet principles.”
--Walter McCormick, president and CEO of USTelecom
“If you favor economic growth and an open, vibrant Internet, there is no reason to oppose this idea. This is not heavy-handed government regulation. As the chairman said, his proposal is just the opposite. It lifts the heavy hands of private-sector regulation in favor of openness and freedom.”
--Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of public interest group Public Knowledge
"As a justification for the adoption of rules, the chairman suggested that one reason for concern ‘has to do with limited competition among service providers.’ This is at the core of our concerns. Unlike the other platforms that would be subject to the rules, the wireless industry is extremely competitive, extremely innovative, and extremely personal. How do the rules apply to the single-purpose Amazon Kindle? How does it apply to Google’s efforts to cache content to provide a better consumer experience? How about the efforts from Apple and Android, BlackBerry and Nokia, Firefly and others to differentiate the products and services they develop for consumers? Should all product and service offerings be the same?"
--Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association
