In the wake of rampant fears among public interest groups that the FCC is going to cave in to big telecommunications and cable companies and steer clear of net neutrality safeguards, the chairs of the two Commerce committees have written to Chairman Julius Genachowski urging him to stay the course as promised.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) are the joint-authors of the letter.
They note that in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of Comcast and against the FCC in the BitTorrent case, that all viable options to protect broadband consumers must remain on the table, including changing the classification of broadband service to give the Commission greater authority over it.
They promised to use their power as chairs of the two key Congressional committees to create legislation to clearly establish the FCC’s authority.
They concluded, “We believe both Congress and the Commission have roles to play in fostering the rapid deployment and dissemination of broadband across the country. We look forward to working with you and making progress in this process.”
