Press Release
Free Press Responds to AT&T Letter, Urges FCC to Ignore Net Neutrality Distraction
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- AT&T filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission on Friday asking the agency to investigate whether the Google Voice application is blocking some calls. In the letter, AT&T misguidedly claims that Google Voice is violating the FCC's Internet Policy Statement, though this statement applies only to Internet access services -- not to applications or Web services.
AT&T's letter comes just days after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed new Network Neutrality rules designed to protect the open Internet from discrimination by Internet Service Providers and to make their network management practices transparent for consumers.
Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, made the following statement:
"AT&T's letter to the Federal Communications Commission is a red herring – it appears to be a political stunt to distract attention from the important work the FCC has begun on Network Neutrality.
"Whether Google Voice should be subject to the same rules as a traditional telephone service has absolutely nothing to do with Net Neutrality rules. The FCC has been grappling for years with the issue of how to apply a regulatory classification to voice-over-the-Internet services that connect to the conventional phone network. AT&T raising this issue now is nothing new. The FCC certainly should not let AT&T's misdirection delay its rulemaking on the separate issue of Net Neutrality -- spats between two dueling giants cannot be allowed to stand in the way of Internet freedom.
"To be clear, the FCC's open Internet principles apply to Internet Service Providers -- those companies that control the on-ramps to the information superhighway. The Internet Policy Statement applies only to Internet access services. Whatever regulatory or technical classifications it may eventually fall under, Google Voice is certainly not an Internet access service.
"If AT&T would like to bring clarity to services that currently sit in regulatory limbo, then we'd like to add AT&T's U-verse video service and its text messaging service to the list. The company has resisted a clear regulatory classification on those services for years. We would be glad to see the FCC bring certainty to the consumer marketplace across the board. AT&T should be careful what it wishes for."
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Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. Learn more at www.freepress.net
AT&T's letter comes just days after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed new Network Neutrality rules designed to protect the open Internet from discrimination by Internet Service Providers and to make their network management practices transparent for consumers.
Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, made the following statement:
"AT&T's letter to the Federal Communications Commission is a red herring – it appears to be a political stunt to distract attention from the important work the FCC has begun on Network Neutrality.
"Whether Google Voice should be subject to the same rules as a traditional telephone service has absolutely nothing to do with Net Neutrality rules. The FCC has been grappling for years with the issue of how to apply a regulatory classification to voice-over-the-Internet services that connect to the conventional phone network. AT&T raising this issue now is nothing new. The FCC certainly should not let AT&T's misdirection delay its rulemaking on the separate issue of Net Neutrality -- spats between two dueling giants cannot be allowed to stand in the way of Internet freedom.
"To be clear, the FCC's open Internet principles apply to Internet Service Providers -- those companies that control the on-ramps to the information superhighway. The Internet Policy Statement applies only to Internet access services. Whatever regulatory or technical classifications it may eventually fall under, Google Voice is certainly not an Internet access service.
"If AT&T would like to bring clarity to services that currently sit in regulatory limbo, then we'd like to add AT&T's U-verse video service and its text messaging service to the list. The company has resisted a clear regulatory classification on those services for years. We would be glad to see the FCC bring certainty to the consumer marketplace across the board. AT&T should be careful what it wishes for."
###
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. Learn more at www.freepress.net
