Tomorrow there will be two important hearings on Capitol Hill calling on technology and communications experts to discuss the future of broadband regulation. The hearings will consider a new draft bill that would codify core principles of network neutrality into law – ensuring Internet openness by prohibiting Internet blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization along with transparency of business practices. At the first hearing, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell will testify while Tom Simmons, Senior Vice President of Midcontinent Communications (a cable operator that serves 300,000 customers in the upper Midwest) will testify before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
"The draft bill protects core consumer interests and open Internet principles without sacrificing the incentives that lead to the explosion in broadband innovation and access."
Both Powell and Simmons will deliver a message that supports legislative action to grant the FCC direct legal authority to enforce strong network neutrality rules. Importantly, the draft bill protects core consumer interests and open Internet principles without sacrificing the incentives that lead to the explosion in broadband innovation and access that has defined the last two decades. And it would end the decade-long controversy over the FCC’s efforts to establish sustainable network neutrality protections. What makes the bill so important is that it empowers the Commission to enforce strong Open Internet protections without precipitating the kind of collateral consumer damage that would result from Title II reclassification. Reclassification, as we’ve said before, injects incredible uncertainty into the broadband marketplace. It would lead to battles over appropriate ISP oversight and business practices. It would involve costly regulatory proceedings. And it would lead the FCC to second-guess even the simplest business decisions that ISPs make every day, increasing transaction costs and decreasing competition and investment. In short, Title II would lead to a slower, less innovative, less accessible Internet. That’s why this new draft bill, which would amend the Communications Act, is so important. It could empower the Commission to prevent blocking, throttling and paid prioritization while still promoting dynamic innovation and the further growth of high-speed networks. By enacting legislation to clarify the FCC’s authority to enforce Open Internet rules, Congress can play a key role that will help to limit legal uncertainty and avert consumer harm. We look forward to playing a constructive role in that process.