Press Release
New FTC Report Ignores Broadband Reality
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today released a report on "Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy" that urges federal policymakers to "proceed with caution" as they consider the laws and regulations that will shape the future of the Internet.
On behalf of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, issued the following statement:
"On fourth down with the future of the Internet on the line, the Federal Trade Commission decided to punt. While the FTC rightly acknowledges that consumers strongly prefer the free and open Internet the way it is, much of the agency's lengthy new report largely ignores our broadband reality.
"Millions of Americans can't access or afford high-speed Internet services, and the United States continues to slip in every global ranking of broadband progress. The same phone and cable companies whose anti-competitive policies created this sorry situation are now proposing to become gatekeepers over Internet content and services. But the FTC seems content to stand on the sidelines.
"The FTC has an explicit duty to protect consumers. Yet this study includes no empirical research on competition in the local broadband market. They simply take the incumbents at their word that the U.S. broadband marketplace is competitive -- even though most U.S. consumers have at best two choices for broadband at home. The phone and cable companies have a tremendous incentive to favor their own applications and content at the expense of their competitors. In fact, that's exactly what their top executives have announced they plan to do.
"The issue before our policymakers is not about new regulations. Net Neutrality has been part of the Internet since its inception -- and open access policies go back more than a century. The question is whether big phone and cable companies will be given a federal license to discriminate -- or whether the free and open Internet will stay that way. This is not the time for caution, but rather forward-looking and decisive action reinstating Net Neutrality once and for all."
The full FTC report can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/reports/broadband/v070000report.pdf
For more on Net Neutrality, visit http://www.SavetheInternet.com
On behalf of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, issued the following statement:
"On fourth down with the future of the Internet on the line, the Federal Trade Commission decided to punt. While the FTC rightly acknowledges that consumers strongly prefer the free and open Internet the way it is, much of the agency's lengthy new report largely ignores our broadband reality.
"Millions of Americans can't access or afford high-speed Internet services, and the United States continues to slip in every global ranking of broadband progress. The same phone and cable companies whose anti-competitive policies created this sorry situation are now proposing to become gatekeepers over Internet content and services. But the FTC seems content to stand on the sidelines.
"The FTC has an explicit duty to protect consumers. Yet this study includes no empirical research on competition in the local broadband market. They simply take the incumbents at their word that the U.S. broadband marketplace is competitive -- even though most U.S. consumers have at best two choices for broadband at home. The phone and cable companies have a tremendous incentive to favor their own applications and content at the expense of their competitors. In fact, that's exactly what their top executives have announced they plan to do.
"The issue before our policymakers is not about new regulations. Net Neutrality has been part of the Internet since its inception -- and open access policies go back more than a century. The question is whether big phone and cable companies will be given a federal license to discriminate -- or whether the free and open Internet will stay that way. This is not the time for caution, but rather forward-looking and decisive action reinstating Net Neutrality once and for all."
The full FTC report can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/reports/broadband/v070000report.pdf
For more on Net Neutrality, visit http://www.SavetheInternet.com
