4 Dems to FCC: Don't exclude wireless from broadband policy

Four Democrats are urging the Federal Communications Commission to adopt broadband rules, including regulations that would not separate wireless broadband regulatory policy from its wired brethren. The group also denounced paid prioritization for Internet access.
The authors – Edward Markey, (D-Mass.); Anna Eshoo, (D-Calif.); Mike Doyle, (D-Pa.); and Jay Inslee, (D-Wash.) – said the FCC needs to move forward with its plans to oversee broadband policy in light of the recent Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) court ruling and Google Inc. (GOOG) and Verizon Communications Inc.’s (VZ) public-policy suggestion on net neutrality. The congressmen also said they approved of the FCC’s “third-way” of regulating broadband access.
The letter writers seemed to take a harder line on regulating wireless broadband access than most policy makers have favored to date. “Exclusion of wireless services from open Internet requirements could widen the digital divide by establishing a substandard less open experience for traditionally underserved regions and demographic groups that may more often need or choose to access the Internet on a mobile device.
“Moreover, such inconsistent principles could confuse customers, who would have different and uneven experiences depending solely on the connection that their devices might use to reach the Internet. An Internet framework excluding wireless from important consumer safeguards could impede attainment of national broadband goals, while lessening the potential for wireless platforms to serve unserved and underserved areas.”
To date, policy makers at the FCC have acknowledged that wireless broadband services should be regulated with a light touch that keeps in mind wireless networks do not perform the same as wireline networks. Wireless broadband access would remain largely unregulated under a joint policy proposal offered today by Google and Verizon.