Comcast, Cablevision, Charter execs have mixed reactions to net neutrality vote
By Daniel Frankel, FierceCable, February 26, 2015
As widely expected, the FCC voted 3-2 across party lines Thursday to codify strident regulation on Internet service providers, regulating them as a public utility for the first time.
Under the new rules, cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications that also operate broadband networks will be prohibited from slowing down traffic from sources like Netflix. They'll also be stopped from establishing individual "fast lane" deals with these companies to speed up their traffic.
As expected, the cable industry's top lobbying group, the National Cable Telecommunications Association, reacted swiftly--and negatively--to the announcement of the vote.
"This extraordinary action has been justified by the desire to preserve net neutrality, but the FCC order goes well beyond that reasonable objective," the NCTA statement reads. "The FCC has taken the overwhelming support for an open Internet and pried open the door to heavy-handed government regulation in a space celebrated for its free enterprise. The commission has breathed new life into the decayed telephone regulatory model and applied it to the most dynamic, free-wheeling and innovative platform in history."
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Neal McLain