BellSouth Corp. chairman and CEO Duane Ackerman told a TelecomNEXT audience last week that net-neutrality regulations would stifle investments to expand Internet choice and speed for consumers.
"Let me be clear," he said. "Managing our networks is not about controlling where people go on the Internet. Why would we want to violate our customers' trust? It wouldn't take long for the market to punish us."
He continued, "The business models underlying capital-intensive networks -- whether it’s telecom, cable or electric power -- have always used differentiated pricing based on a range of customer needs, and that business model needs to apply to new technology. If we continue to lead communications policy into the future, we will create an Internet that is more open and more affordable for more people. And we will have the capital to make sure that the sun keeps rising on American innovation."
