Ahead of the D.C. Circuit court of appeals ruling on the FCC’s decision to reclassify broadband services as Title II services, Verizon on Monday laid out its stance on net neutrality issues in a firm public policy post.
Verizon’s position includes opposition to three main practices – blocking, throttling and paid prioritization – as well as support for the passage of a general conduct standard that would “prevent unreasonable conduct by broadband providers where there is actual harm to consumers or to competition.”
Specifically, Verizon said it supports rules that would stop providers from blocking “lawful content, applications or services”; prevent providers from purposefully slowing Internet traffic based on source, destination or content; and stop providers from charging content providers a fee to deliver certain traffic faster than other traffic.
Verizon said the window before the court’s decision was the right time to make its position known, “to make clear what Verizon stands for and what kind of policies we support, regardless of the outcome of that case.”
“We can support these rules because we believe they are fair, even-handed, good for consumers and essential for us and others to thrive going forward,” Verizon’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Public Policy Craig Silliman wrote.
But while Verizon said it was clear in its own position, it said it wasn’t expecting as much from the FCC. The carrier said the commission has been working with an outdated toolbox and called on Congress to act to give the FCC the authority it needs to deal with pressing industry issues.
Filed Under: Industry regulations