From ChannelWeb:
Major carriers blasted the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and its push to have more authority to regulate broadband Internet and classify it as telecommunications service following the FCC’3 3-2 vote to continue considering new federal broadband regulations.
Carriers like AT&T (NYSE:T), Comcast (NSDQ:CMCSA) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) lashed out in statements cutting down the FCC decision to move forward with an inquiry on whether broadband should be classified as a telecommunications service, a move that would give the FCC more control and regulatory power over carriers and the services they provide.
“This is impossible to justify on either a policy or legal basis, and we remain confident that if the FCC persists in its course – and we truly hope it does not – the courts will surely overturn their action,” Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, said in a statement posted on AT&T’s public policy blog, which called the FCC’s vote “troubling” and “unsettling.”
Meanwhile, Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications, criticized the FCC further.
“Reclassifying high-speed broadband Internet service as a telecom service is a terrible idea,” Tauke wrote in a statement from Verizon. “The negative consequences for online users and the Internet ecosystem would be severe and have ramifications for decades. It is difficult to understand why the FCC continues to consider this option.”
Tauke added: “Rather than attempting to make the new world of broadband fit into the regulatory scheme of the old telephone world, the FCC should acknowledge that this is an issue Congress should address.”
Classic bureaucratic move. The government has been trying for years to figure out a way to take control over content delivered over broadband. And this is the result — reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service and apply ancient regulations to control content.
Somewhere Hillary (GateKeeper) Clinton is smiling.
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#1 by Libertarian on June 18th, 2010
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I suspect the government wants to take over broadband and all of the Internet, if possible. The government is particularly interested in reading your emails, but they’re not too keen on sharing their private conversations with the citizenry.
Also, they’d like to lock you up if they told them a lie, but they’ll lie to you without consequence. The government, at all levels, needs to be bitch-slapped into submission.