"Verizon has long been committed to preserving an open Internet and meeting the needs of our customers. We have worked extensively with all players in the Internet and communications space to shape policies that ensure an open Internet and encourage investment, innovation and collaboration with content providers and others to meet the needs of consumers. Today's filing is the result of a careful review of the FCC's order. We are deeply concerned by the FCC's assertion of broad authority for sweeping new regulation of broadband networks and the Internet itself. We believe this assertion of authority goes well beyond any authority provided by Congress, and creates uncertainty for the communications industry, innovators, investors and consumers."

Under this bizarre legal theory, virtually every FCC decision would wind up in one court. Verizon has made a blatant attempt to locate its challenge in a favorable appeals court forum. The company's theory assumes that all agency actions changing rules are 'modifications' to hundreds of thousands of licenses. This would insure the case remains in the District of Columbia Circuit, and keeps others from seeking review in different courts."

We are disappointed that Verizon is trying to play legal games with an issue as important as an open Internet. On one hand, they jumped the gun and filed an appeal in the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. circuit based on the idea that they are a wireless company and that their license is affected by the Net Neutrality rules. The D.C. Circuit is the only court designated to hear license challenges. Normally, license challenges relate to an individual company’s operation, not to a rulemaking that affects everyone. Challenges to rulemakings can be heard in any federal appellate circuit. Verizon also filed a motion to have the same group of judges which decided the Comcast case hear their challenge to the Net Neutrality rules. However, the Comcast case was a cable case – not a wireless case. Verizon can’t have it both ways.