Sprint broke ranks with other major players in the telecom industry Friday by sending a letter to the FCC saying it would be just fine with being regulated like a utility for net-neutrality purposes.
“So long as the FCC continues to allow wireless carriers to manage our networks and differentiate our products, Sprint will continue to invest in data networks regardless of whether they are regulated by Title II, Section 706, or some other light touch regulatory regime,” wrote Sprint CTO Stephen Bye.
That’s the money quote in the letter, but may not mean a whole lot to you unless you’ve been steeped in net neutrality coverage over the past year or so. So, instead of waiting for the next John Oliver explainer, let’s break this down.
Title II refers to part of the Communications Act of 1934 that the FCC is considering using to regulate Internet service providers—in part to prevent them from creating Internet fast lanes, with only those able to pay top-dollar able to experience non-rage inducing video streaming.
Bye is essentially saying that Sprint is okay with this sort of regulatory action. That puts it at odds with other large wireless providers and the mobile-carrier trade association (which represents Sprint as well as behemoths like Verizon and AT&T). Those lobbyists, unsurprisingly, insist that net neutrality and Title II regulation would “jeopardize mobile broadband’s dynamism and the investment and innovation which characterizes the U.S. mobile ecosystem today.”
The Sprint letter suggests that at least one mobile provider sees the FCC’s embrace of Title II regulation as inevitable.
Photo by Somaya Langley
