CenturyLink® And AT&T® Said FCC Title II Reversal Can Attract More Investment

CenturyLink^®, AT&T^®, and other telecom majors recently said that the proposal of FCC to take the Title II out of net neutrality rules would improve their abilities to make investments in the network. Joan Marsh, who is the SVP of federal affairs at AT&T^® said in a statement that Title II on the net neutrality rules has not done anything but lead to uncertainties for AT&T^® and the other internet providers in the country.

“When the 2015 reclassification Order was adopted, Chairman (then Commissioner) Pai and Commissioner O’Rielly objected vigorously on both legal and policy grounds,” Marsh said. “Putting that kind of straight jacket on internet providers served no beneficial purpose, addressed no harm and, predictably, suppressed investment. American consumers will be better served by a return to the light touch regulatory regime that garnered bi-partisan support for decades and fostered infrastructure deployment, innovation, freedom and entrepreneurship.”

CenturyLink^® also shared similar sentiments in their statement about the FCC’s move. “CenturyLink strongly supports a return to a light-touch regulatory framework that classifies the internet as an information service as opposed to a public utility,” they said. “Removing excessive and over-reaching Title II public utility-style regulation will lead to more innovation and investment and help ensure the internet continues to evolve and expand to meet customers’ ever-growing online demands.”

CenturyLink^® added that it “is committed to an open internet that allows our customers to access all the lawful content of their choice from any location or device and will continue to be transparent about the handling of internet traffic, customers’ privacy and the overall internet experience.”

As part of their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC said that they are planning to return the bipartisan framework, which offered open and free internet for about two decades. FCC approved the proposal 2-1, with Commissioner Michael O’Reilly and Chairman Ajit Pai approving the proposal and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn disagreeing.

The notice from FCC put forward a proposal to reverse the 2015 decision of FCC to impose Title II utility style regulation on the different internet providers and return the light touch framework, which is under the Title I of the Communications Act. However, the vote does not overturn the net neutrality rules immediately. Instead of that, it marks the start of a commenting period in which different internet providers, advocates, and consumer interest groups can share their opinions and views with the FCC.