The FCC should immediately reclassify broadband under Title II of...
The FCC should immediately reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said Thursday after a House effort at a net neutrality compromise failed (CD Sept…
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30 p1). “Now that it is clear that Congress is unlikely to legislate in this area this year, the FCC should move forward to implement this vitally important proposal,” said Markey. Dorgan praised work in the House but still thinks “the best way to preserve the free and open Internet is for the FCC to act now to reclassify broadband under Title II,” he said. “All of us who believe in an Internet without gatekeepers or tollbooths should be calling on” Chairman Julius “Genachowski to reclassify broadband in a manner that re-imposes the nondiscrimination rules on the large internet providers.” Dish Network, Public Knowledge, Free Press and the Consumer Federation of America urged the same. “Given that Congress was not able to reach a compromise, it is essential that the FCC act now under its ‘Third Way’ approach,” Dish said late Wednesday. “The FCC needs a sound jurisdictional foundation to implement sensible rules of the road for the protection of consumers and competition.” But economist Ev Ehrlich, Commerce Department undersecretary during the Clinton administration, said Congress should still act. “Sooner or later, the Congress will have to act to ensure that broadband providers are not subject to the FCC’s burdensome Title II regulations.” The end of the House’s bipartisan talks makes reclassification by the commission more likely, Concept Capital analyst Paul Gallant said in a note Thursday. But it’s not a sure thing, he said: “Once the dust settles following yesterday’s drama, we would not underestimate the possibility that the progress from the FCC’s stakeholder talks over the summer, along with this recent congressional effort, could drive some type of Hill-FCC compromise that avoids broadband reclassification.” AT&T still wants Congress to act. “We are mindful that these issues are important and complex and that there was insufficient time to consider and act on our efforts,” Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president, said Thursday. “We remain convinced that the proper course is for Congress to decide the scope of authority it wishes the FCC to have in this area.” The Communications Workers of America said Waxman’s draft bill “can provide the consensus we need to move” broadband “build-out forward."