FCC Has No Authority to Regulate Internet, Verizon EVP Says

The Federal Communications Commission does not have the explicit power to regulate the Internet, and should wait for Congress to grant it that authority, says Tom Tauke, Verizon EVP. The statement is not as controversial as some might think, as Comcast has challenged such authority in federal court, and many observers think Comcast will prevail.

Comcast has challenged the FCC’s authority to punish it for throttling the bandwidth of customers using bitTorrent programs to share huge files.

“The authority of the FCC to regulate broadband providers under the so-called ‘Information Services’ title, or Title I, of the Communications Act [is] at best murky,” Tauke said. “In confronting this hard question about jurisdictional authority, we [are] also faced this policy question: If Title I and Title II don’t apply to the Internet space, what are you saying about the authority of government in this space?

“In a market developing at these speeds, the FCC must follow a piece of advice as old as Western Civilization itself: first, do no harm," said Tauke.

“Today about 96 percent of Americans have access to at least two providers of wireline broadband and as many as three wireless providers, and more than 55 million Americans can connect to a broadband network capable of delivering at least a 50 Mbps stream," Tauke said.