An alliance of 60 tech companies, including the likes of Intel, IBM, and Qualcomm, have signed a letter addressed to US Congress and the FCC opposing Title II reclassification of broadband services.
It was President Barack Obama who proposed classifying internet as a utility service under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act in order to ensure net neutrality, but there has been backlash from ISPs, tech companies, and telecoms providers ever since the idea was pitched.
“For almost twenty years, national leadership, on a bipartisan basis, has nurtured the broadband internet with a wise, effective, and restrained policy approach that supported the free flow of data, services, and ideas online while creating a climate that supported private investment in broadband networks,” the letter claims. Then, attacking Obama’s net neutrality plan, it continues, “Title II is going to lead to a slowdown, if not a hold, in broadband build out, because if you don’t know that you can recover on your investment, you won’t make it.”
FCC chair Tom Wheeler had hoped to bring in legislation to protect the internet by the end of the year, but plans have been delayed until 2015.
Source: The Verge
What are they talking about? Their argument makes no sense. Title II existed until 2002 and after that the FCC put in place Net Neutrality rules. Net neutrality has existed throughout the existence of the Internet, except for the last year after the Verizon decision. It has been because of Net Neutrality that the Internet has been such an excellent vehicle for entrepreneurship, start-ups and economic expansion. Is it because these companies are now established that they want to prevent competition? That is the only explanation I can see for their misaken argument.