A group of municipal leaders and their private sector small ISP partners submitted an ex parte filing with the FCC today stating that they see no reason to fear Title II reclassification of Internet access. The statement, signed by a variety of towns and providers from different areas of the country is reproduced in full:
Dear Chairman Wheeler,
As a group of local governments and small ISPs that have been working to expand the highest quality Internet access to our communities, we commend you for your efforts to improve Internet access across the country. We are committed to a free and open Internet without blocking, throttling, or discriminating by ISPs.
As local governments and small ISPs, we wanted to ensure you are aware that not all local governments and ISPs think alike on matters like reclassification. For instance, on July 18, 2014, the mayors of New York City; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco called on you to issue the strongest possible rules to guarantee Net Neutrality. Each of these communities is also taking steps to expand and improve high quality Internet access to their businesses and residents.
Our approaches vary but are already resulting in the highest level of service available because we are committed to expanding high quality Internet access to supercharge local economies and improve quality of life. We have no interest in simply replicating older triple play model approaches. We want to build the infrastructure of the future and we see nothing in the proposed Title II reclassification of Internet access that would hinder our ability to do that. As Sonic CEO Dane Jasper has strongly argued, ISPs that don’t want to interfere with their subscribers’ traffic should expect a light regulatory touch.
We thank you for your leadership during this difficult period of transition. We understand that many of our colleagues have trouble trusting the FCC given a history that has, in many cases, ignored the challenges small entities face in this industry. But whether it has been increasing the speed definition of broadband, or calling for the removal of barriers to community networks, we have been impressed with your willingness to take on powerful interest groups to ensure the Internet remains a vibrant, open platform.
We look forward to working with you to ensure that future rules recognize the unique challenges of small providers and innovative approaches to expanding access.
Sincerely,
- Peter d’Errico, Town of Leverett MA, Municipal Light Plant, Town of Leverett MA Select Board
- Fletcher Kittredge, President and CEO, GWI, Maine
- Rick Bates, Town Manager, Town of Rockport, Maine
- Kevin Utz, Mayor, Westminster, Maryland
- Dr Robert Wack, Council Member, Westminster, Maryland
- R. Brough Turner, Founder and CTO, netBlazr Inc., Boston, MA
- Pete Ashdown, Founder and CEO of XMission, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Elliot Noss, CEO, Tucows / Ting
- Kim Kleppe, Information Systems Director, City of Mount Vernon, Washington
- Dana Kirkham, Mayor, City of Ammon, ID
- Levi C. Maaia, President, Full Channel Labs, Warren, Rhode Island
For more on Title II and how it may or may not affect municipal networks and their private partners, listen to Chris interview Chris Lewis from Public Knowledge in Episode #138 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.