House GOP Asks Obama To Oppose FCC Plan For Open Internet
By Fawn Johnson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Top House Republicans are appealing to the White
House to protest Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's
proposal to require Internet service providers to keep their networks open to
legal content and external devices.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Republican Whip Eric Cantor,
R-Va., on Friday sent a letter to President Barack Obama and Genachowski, saying
the proposed "net neutrality" regulations would "thwart further broadband
investment and availability."
"To hastily begin the process of adopting network neutrality rules months
before issuing such a [broadband] plan implies that politics are driving the
FCC's decision-making process," the letter said.
Net neutrality is a top priority of Internet advocates who aggressively
supported Obama in his run for the White House.
The FCC is scheduled to vote on the open Internet proposal later this month.
Genachowski's office on Thursday circulated a draft of the proposed rule to the
other four independent FCC commissioners.
The FCC also is crafting a massive plan on how to blanket the country with
high-speed Internet, as mandated by the economic stimulus law. That plan is due
in Congress in February.
FCC officials say the net neutrality rule and the broadband plan are separate
issues. The national broadband plan assumes Internet service providers will
abide by the open Internet principles that the agency established years ago.
The open Internet rule would put into law the FCC's principles for a
nondiscriminatory Internet.
The net neutrality proposal also would impose broad new regulations on such
wireless companies as Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and T-Mobile USA, a unit of
Deutsche Telekom ADR (DT). Wireless firms, to date, haven't been subjected to
the same kind of open Internet scrutiny as have companies providing cable,
fiber, or DSL-type connections.
Big telecom companies Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), AT&T Inc. (T), and
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), are concerned about the net neutrality plan, fearing the
rules would hamper investment in new Internet products.
It isn't clear that the White House will be sympathetic to Boehner and
Cantor's concerns. Obama said during his presidential campaign that he supports
open Internet rules.
An FCC spokeswoman said she hadn't seen the letter and wasn't immediately able
to comment on it.
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-02-091607ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
|