Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune today reacted to the decision by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski in relation to new regulations on the Internet under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
“Expanding broadband access to underserved areas like rural parts of South Dakota is an important goal, and the successful light-touch of federal regulation must be maintained if more consumers are going to benefit from faster, more affordable broadband in the future,” said Thune. “However, Chairman Genacowski’s recent decision to pursue net neutrality regulations by reclassifying broadband under a new set of government regulations has the potential to paralyze investment in broadband deployment, which has become a leading capital investment industry in the United States. Title II regulation was never intended for the Internet, which has opened doors for new opportunities in commerce and education all without heavy-handed federal regulation. I look forward to working with the FCC and my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee to implement the beneficial provisions of the National Broadband Plan without reclassifying broadband for the sake of net neutrality.”
“Expanding broadband access to underserved areas like rural parts of South Dakota is an important goal, and the successful light-touch of federal regulation must be maintained if more consumers are going to benefit from faster, more affordable broadband in the future,” said Thune. “However, Chairman Genacowski’s recent decision to pursue net neutrality regulations by reclassifying broadband under a new set of government regulations has the potential to paralyze investment in broadband deployment, which has become a leading capital investment industry in the United States. Title II regulation was never intended for the Internet, which has opened doors for new opportunities in commerce and education all without heavy-handed federal regulation. I look forward to working with the FCC and my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee to implement the beneficial provisions of the National Broadband Plan without reclassifying broadband for the sake of net neutrality.”
