The mega-ISPs have shared their thoughts on today's FCC net neutrality ruling, and you'll be shocked and surprised to learn that they don't much like it. AT&T, for example, insisted in a blog post that the FCC's since-overturned 2010 net neutrality rules (which did little and didn't cover wireless) were good enough, and that the unprecedented public-supported effort to pass tougher rules was a horrible example of "rigidity" and a failure on the part of new FCC boss Tom Wheeler:
quote:
Every chairman in my memory, including the current one, has faced political stampedes of one sort or another. Yet the agency has always tried to find a middle ground and a consensus win. They’ve understood that a win, unlike a fight, is the product of reaching out to both sides, and working in a bipartisan way to find a solution. A win is the product of compromise, thoughtful policy, and a genuine desire to find the answer to a complex set of issues.
Of course every Chairman before Wheeler, whether it was Martin, Genachowski, or Powell, actually
went out of his way to avoid saying no to AT&T, going so far as to let them co-write the 2010 rules. Wheeler, despite being a former lobbyist for the wireless industry, was the first FCC boss in a very long time to stand up to AT&T to the shock of everyone. Still, AT&T says that whatever happens, it will do its best to protect the public from "animosity, exaggeration, demonization and fear-mongering" moving forward.
Meanwhile, Verizon tried to have a sense of humor about the day's events, posting a blog entry written entirely in Morse code. When you look for a translation (pdf), Verizon offers up a press release that appears to be written by an old typewriter.
Verizon's consistently tried to argue that because Title II is older law, it can't be applied to modern networks, thus the Morse code (get it?). From Verizon's complaint:
quote:
Today the Federal Communications Commission approved an order urged by President Obama that imposes rules on broadband Internet services that were written in the era of the steam locomotive and the telegraph...Today’s decision by the FCC to encumber broadband Internet services with badly antiquated regulations is a radical step that presages a time of uncertainty for consumers, innovators and investors.
Of course just because a law is old doesn't mean it's useless. Just ask the Constitution, or the Communications Act or Telecommunications Act, without which Verizon wouldn't own the spectrum that makes them possible as a corporate entity. Meanwhile, Verizon continues to insist the FCC's creating "regulatory uncertainty," when it was Verizon's decision to sue over rules the rest of the broadband industry
had no problem with. Have we mentioned Verizon's fine with "antiquated" Title II when it
gives them massive tax breaks?
Comcast had a less humorous blog post by "Chief Diversity Officer" David Cohen, who hinted at investment cutbacks and litigation:
quote:
Specifically, after seeing the Order, we’ll have to engage in additional internal scrutiny on what our investment plans with respect to broadband will be going forward. After today, the only "certainty" in the Open Internet space is that we all face inevitable litigation and years of regulatory uncertainty challenging an Order that puts in place rules that most of us agree with.
Protip for Comcast: you can avoid "inevitable litigation and years of regulatory uncertainty" by not suing! Of course the inevitable mega-ISP lawsuit will only come once ISP lawyers have a chance to examine the rules for weak spots, and as
noted earlier today the actual release won't arrive until the dissenting FCC Commissioners include their opposition notes. It's entirely possible AT&T, Verizon and Comcast may finally realize what ISPs like Sonic, Sprint, Frontier and Cablevision have been saying all along -- that the rules
really don't hurt their businesses whatsoever, but given their history it seems fairly unlikely that the triplet mega-ISPs will be able to resist a full frontal legal assault.