Verizon, which wound up the only stakeholder to challenge the FCC's network neutrality rules—and win—has told the FCC it still thinks no rules are necessary.
That came in comments to the FCC on its latest attempt to come up with anti-blocking and anti-unreasonable discrimination rules that will pass court muster.
Verizon suggested that it did not challenge the original rules so it could do those things. Quite the opposite.
"Nothing about the litigation that led to the remand of the Commission’s 2010 Open Internet Order, or the result of that dispute, should distract observers from the core point that Verizon supports and relies upon a robust and open Internet," Verizon said. "Verizon has been clear with our customers that we will not block their access to any content, applications, services or devices based on their source."
But if the FCC does reinstate rules, said Verizon, it should give broadband providers the flexibility to come up with "novel service offerings and business models, including differentiated network management and pricing."
But what the FCC should not do, Verizon said, is apply the new rules to wireless—most of the old rules did not apply to wireless—and it should definitely not reclassify ISPs under Title II.
"[R]eclassification of broadband Internet access service as a Title II common carriage telecommunications service would be a radical departure that would not achieve its proponents’ stated goals and would only endanger the entire Internet ecosystem," Verizon said.
