Earlier today, AT&T filed a
letter with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) offering the
company’s views on Net Neutrality.
The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and
co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“The latest AT&T letter to the Commission adds nothing to the
Net Neutrality debate, and in some ways detracts from the discussion
because it distorts the public policy positions of others.
“AT&T has tried to draw what is an imaginary line among types
of discrimination. The company advised the FCC that while ‘unreasonable’
discrimination can be banned, any discrimination caused by ‘voluntary
commercial agreements’ is just fine because the parties involved agreed
to it. That is nonsense.
“As we have said consistently, the Internet has functioned as well
as it has because control of the crucial roles at each end of the
network. Side deals made by a carrier like AT&T and a content
provider or other company take that control out of the hands of the
consumer.
“Similarly, it is unfortunate that AT&T has resorted to the old
tactic of threatening not to invest in its network if the company does
not get what it wants in a rulemaking. The growth of the Internet will be
driven by consumer demand, not by gimmicks. If the company is truly
interested in consumers, it will allow consumers to remain in
control.”