“Chairman Genachowski has given a very thoughtful speech about a complex and important set of policies. As someone who almost 10 years ago was himself involved with an Internet startup, I applaud his vision of preserving an open Internet in order to promote entrepreneurship without permission.
“The process for consideration of these issues outlined by the Chairman, moreover, is fair, data-driven, open, and respects the rule of law. In addition, we welcome Chairman Genachowski’s statement that conclusions will not and should not be predetermined; that is, after all, the very point of the rulemaking process. We, too, do not want to prejudge ultimate conclusions.
“However, we appreciate his recognition of the enormous investment made by Internet Service Providers and their role in a broadband story that continues to be an unparalleled success for the economy and the American consumer. As an industry, we are committed to an open Internet that allows consumers to use and enjoy lawful content and services of their choosing. We thus appreciate the Chairman’s recognition of the necessity for, and difficult tensions inherent in, reasonable network management practices and of the value of new business models that will support continued innovation and investment. And we agree that it is important for any framework to respect the intellectual property rights of those creating new services, applications and content.
“We recognize that we may, however, have a different view about the state of competition and the choices and benefits that flow to consumers from that competition. While we look forward to working with Chairman Genachowski and his colleagues, we will continue to present facts and data to the Commission that suggest that any regulation in this arena should be approached with great caution and only in the most targeted way, and to advocate policies that avoid government entanglement in operational decisions that could undermine the very dynamism of the Internet we all seek to preserve.”
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