Earlier today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski said the Commission would conduct a proceeding to classify high-speed Internet access as a regulated service.
The Genachowski statement is here.
A statement by General Counsel Austin Schlick is here.
The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“We are generally very pleased with the FCC’s statement this morning. We have said for months that the right path for the Commission to take would be to examine all the possibilities for the best way to protect consumers and guarantee the expansion of broadband. The method the FCC is expected to propose should be on the table, and we are glad it is.
“Having said that, we were not pleased to read that the Commission at the outset is foreclosing the possibility of requiring line sharing. As the Berkman report found, line sharing is a crucial method to ensuring the long-term vibrancy of the broadband market and to providing more choices for consumers.
“Finally we note that last fall, after Chairman Genachowski announced his intention to have a Net Neutrality proceeding, opponents unleashed an unprecedented shock and awe campaign against the Commission even before the proposed rules were written. As Commissioner Clyburn later admonished, ‘some parties seem to prefer radioactive rhetoric and unseemly and unbecoming tactics. Such an approach may yield headlines, but will not yield positive results with me.’ Opponents would do well to take this admonition to heart.”
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.