The Federal Communications Commission issued a public notice, putting out for public comment two elements in the policy suggestion from Verizon and Google. The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“Nothing in this public notice prevents the FCC from taking prompt action on its ‘Third Way’ proceeding, which would make certain all Americans have affordable access to broadband, and to make sure it can deal with public safety and other crucial issues that are broader than the narrow issues on which the Commission seeks comment.
“We expect the Commission will move quickly to set the legal framework for the FCC to oversee broadband Internet access services, with specific rules to protect the open Internet to follow soon after.
“We note that both of the issues on which the FCC seeks public comment, dealing with specialized services and the status of wireless services in an open Internet, were extensively explored in not one, but two proceedings pending at the Commission in which comments were submitted. The most recent comments were filed three weeks ago, following public disclosure of the policy agreement between Verizon and Google.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.