Verizon Communications on Tuesday urged House of Representatives lawmakers to revise proposed language on Internet network neutrality, saying it could lead to prolonged litigation and uncertainty.
The provisions are part of a broader bill that would make it easier for Verizon and AT&T Inc. to get into the subscription television business. The companies have opposed legislation that would impose so-called "Net neutrality."
The House measure codifies principles that the Federal Communications Commission adopted last year and encourages high-speed Internet service providers to ensure that consumers can freely surf the Internet.
But Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs, policy and communications, said those principles suggest consumers are entitled to Internet access and competition, which he said could lead to price controls and other regulations by an aggressive regulator.
"The spirit of the FCC language is fine but taking that language and putting it in the statute, and the subsequent litigation that might result from that, I think is problematic," Tauke said at an Internet policy conference.
"So we encourage Congressman Barton and others to do a little careful drafting of that language so that you have language that is more appropriate for statute, which doesn't invite so much litigation down the road," he said, referring to the Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a principle sponsor of the bill.
Similar legislation in the Senate calls for study of the net neutrality issue, a position that Tauke said his company embraced.
The 1996 Telecommunications Act has been mired in almost a decade of litigation. Companies have complained that prolonged legal fights have hurt investment and innovation.
Verizon and AT&T want to expand flat pricing for high-speed Internet broadband to selling tiers of service based on the speed, reliability and security. They have pledged not to block access to the open Internet.
But that has raised fears among Internet content companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. that they will be shunted to a slower lane of the Internet if they do not pay more for dedicated access.
Tauke said that concern was unwarranted.
It was unclear when the House bill would be considered by the full House because the Judiciary Committee has demanded that it be given time to review and amend the bill, arguing that it has jurisdiction on some of the issues in the measure.
Verizon agreed to adhere to the FCC's principles on Net neutrality when it won approval from the agency to acquire MCI Inc. last year.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited.
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