At The Cable Show, FCC Chairman Clarifies the Future of an Open Internet [VIDEO]

wheeler

Opening the Wednesday General Session was FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler who took the stage to with a firm direction – to clear up any misunderstandings about the proposed notice for new rules to ensure that the Internet remains an open platform. The speech and subsequent chat with NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell certainly delivered the goods.

Wheeler started firm, clear and concise. “I wanted to start light,” he said, “but now I can’t.”

He outlined two key things to remember. One: That last week’s announcement was a notice and that it’s meant to be discussed, questioned, and altered. It is by no means a decree. And two: That “all options are on the table”. Each word firmly punctuated, Wheeler was speaking to not just a room full of broadband providers, but to the world of entrepreneurs, innovators, and consumers. Wheeler said it’s “time to create legal and enforceable Internet rules. It’s time to get the job finished. We’ve been waiting long enough.” Wheeler stressed that nothing that has been discussed amounts to a “gutting of the Internet” and that any and all open Internet rules will be tough and enforceable. He went on to explain the oft-discussed phrase, “commercially reasonable” and how this term will serve as a strong, enforceable litmus test for appropriate ISP practices.

Wheeler said clearly, “Any new rule will assure an open pathway that is sufficiently robust to enable consumers to access the content, services, access they demand” and that these are “rules that will encourage ISPs to create upgrades for all.” “I know in my bones,” Wheeler went on, “how hard it is to start a company with innovative ideas. As chairman of the FCC, I do not intend the allow innovation to be cut off.”

Soon after his clarifying statements, Wheeler sat down with Michael Powell, President and CEO of NCTA. The two went into further detail about the role of Wi-Fi and increasing broadband speeds will play in the future of the Internet.

Powell asked, “should wireless service be considered a competitor for traditional broadband?” To which Wheeler offered an analogy – that our industry is less a snapshot and more a moving picture. That we need not look at what’s happening now, but to look to the future to understand what competition will really look like. And in that statement was the essence of what Wheeler was addressing. That his number-one priority with any new set of open Internet rules is to promote more competition, more innovation, more access, and more security.

“An open Internet is critical,” Powell said. “We didn’t oppose the rules in 2010 and we look forward to working with you constructively to strike the right balance that serves the public interest.”

FULL VIDEO of Tom Wheeler’s speech and Q+A chat with Michael Powell: