[opendtv] AT&T's Stephenson: Title II Puts Damper On Fiber Builds | Multichannel
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:19:36 -0500
http://www.multichannel.com/news/technology/atts-stephenson-title-ii-puts-damper-fiber-builds/385501
AT&T's Stephenson: Title II Puts Damper On Fiber Builds
AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson warned at a Wells Fargo Securities analyst
conference Wednesday that its plans to deploy fiber to 100 cities are in hold
mode as the company figures out how broadband is going to be regulated.
"So, you're doing multi-billion-dollar investments and you really have no
clarity in terms of how those investments will be regulated," he said. "That
can have no effect other than to cause one to pause."
He said AT&T would deliver on its promise in the DirecTV merger proposal to
build out fiber to 2 million additional homes if that deal is approved, but
beyond that the picture was cloudier.
Stephenson said that whichever way the rules go, they are going to court, and
sees that taking at least a couple of years to resolve. He suggested Wheeler's
initial effort to restore rules without reclassifying under Title II might be a
swifter resolution of the issue, and could still provide the prophylactic
prohibitions on slow lanes and paid prioritization the President was looking
for.
Comcast EVP David Cohen blogged Tuesday that Comcast agreed with the president
on not throttling and no paid prioritization, but, like Stephenson, says it can
be done short of Title II.
Stephenson has already made the point to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about the
threat to infrastructure investment and the build-out of high speed that is
high on the chairman's to-do list.
Last week, Stephenson met with Wheeler about the issue, arguing that the FCC
has authority under its Sec. 706 authority to prohibit paid prioritization
"which harms consumers or competition," and that regulating the Internet under
Title II could do a number on Wheeler's top priority of extending high-speed
broadband.
According to an ex parte filing on the conversations, Stephenson told Wheeler
Title II "is not only contrary to Commission precedent but would negatively
impact broadband infrastructure investment in a manner that would be
counterproductive to the Commission’s and Administration’s goal of making high
speed broadband universally available in the United States."
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