Yesterday's FCC decision to adopt utility-style Title II regulation of the Internet has, not surprisingly, generated an overwhelmingly negative response across industries in the Internet business. Here are the top 10 comments we've seen so far.
- "Today's vote by the FCC reclassifying broadband as a Title II public utility service takes us in the wrong direction on the information superhighway." - Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association
- "FCC actions are supposed to be based on data, not conjecture." - American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka
- "(I)t is likely that history will judge today's actions as misguided." - Michael E. Glover, Verizon senior vice president, public policy and government affairs
- "The Commission has breathed new life into the decayed telephone regulatory model and applied it to the most dynamic, free-wheeling and innovative platform in history." - NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell
- "Government micromanagement of the marketplace has failed repeatedly, and it won't work now." - TIA CEO Scott Belcher
- "(T)he rules adopted today will add fees to customer bills, create regulatory uncertainty and lead to years of litigation that, together, will slow the progress and development of faster broadband for our subscribers." - Statement from Charter Communications, no spokesperson named
- "The legal reclassification of a service this critical to the economic and cultural fabric of our nation should not be left to three unelected government officials." - Statement from Mediacom Communications, no spokesperson named
- "It's time for Congressional action to deliver permanent Net Neutrality protections that we all support." - Jennifer Hightower, Cox Communications senior vice president of law and policy and general counsel
- "The FCC has stated unequivocally they will not impose new fees on existing broadband service providers as part of this Order. On behalf of our customers, TDS hopes they keep their word." - Drew Petersen, vice president of external affairs and corporate communications at TDS Telecom
- "FCC's claim that the mobile voice experience supports the FCC's efforts distorts history and the law, turning a deregulatory statute in 1993 on its head." - CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker