Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on Friday wrote a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees urging Congress to step in and do something about the FCC's recent decision to uncharacteristically stand up to large broadband providers and pass meaningful (we hope) net neutrality rules. Verizon stated that the existing laws allowing the FCC to engage in said pro-consumer behavior are "outdated and broken."
Earlier this year net neutrality opponents Senator John Thune and Representative Fred Upton pushed what they called a
"bipartisan" solution to net neutrality. The proposed law would have effectively pre-empted the FCC's push toward Title II based rules, actually replacing them with a proposal that was weaker than the relatively-flimsy rules Verizon sued to overturn in 2010.
Needless to say, the ploy didn't get much bipartisan support, as its underlying goal was actually weaker consumer protections. Still, Verizon urged Congress to continue to push its own, heavily-ISP-influenced idea of net neutrality in order to help derail the FCC's efforts.
"It is time for Congress to return to its righful place and set policy," McAdam proclaimed. "In the short term, Congress should come together on a bipartisan basis and pass a bill that protects the open Internet in a way that avoids the collateral damage that will result from the FCC's actions."
In addition to urging Congress to impose its own net neutrality rules, Verizon (like other ISPs) is pushing hard for a total rewrite of the 1996 Telecom Act, an effort that has been sidetracked by the current net neutrality debate. The rewrite's goal is primarily to weaken regulatory oversight of broadband issues via campaign contributions, ensuring regulatory agencies lack the budgets or authority to do their jobs effectively.
Obviously McAdam can't specifically come out and say that, so instead the CEO's rhetoric focuses on the the idea that the existing laws are antiquated, and that Verizon is solely interested in "bipartisan" solutions to help protect "investment and innovation."
"It is time for Congress to assert its longstanding role of setting, in a bipartisan fashion, public policies for the communications sector that both protect consumers and provide incentives for investment and innovation in new products and services," declared McAdam.
Granted Verizon often has itself to blame when it comes to regulatory intervention. The company sued to overturn the FCC's 2010 net neutrality rules, despite the fact they were rather loophole-filled and Comcast and AT&T saw no problem with them. Big red also has a long, proud history of abusing market power to block or otherwise hinder a long list of technologies it deems a threat -- whether that was GPS radios (so users had to use their GPS apps), tethering, or competing mobile payment platforms.
260144877 Thune Nelson Upton Pallone Vz Letter (2)