Comcast says ISP capital expenditures have declined under Title II—by one account by $3.6 billion—and that those who claim investment has been unaffected "aren't living in the real world."
That came in comments to the FCCMondayon chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to roll back Title II—which were blogged about by top Comcast policy executive David Cohen, who reiterated that his company will not block, throttle or discriminate no matter what happens in Washington, "And that we believe in full transparency; customers will always know what our policies are."
He said it was time for the "naysayers" to stop ignoring—some would argue belittling—that commitment.
"This proceeding is simply not putting net neutrality at risk," he said no matter how many words are written attempting to misinterpret the intention and purpose of the NPRM."
Cohen put in a plug for a legislative solution.
There are reports that some Hill Democrats might be willing to talk compromise legislation, particularly if some edge providers see that as a preferable outcome to an FCC rollback that could change again under a new administration.
Cohen noted the comment from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he was "open to working with members of Congress and anyone else on laws to protect net neutrality." He also noted Alexis Ohanian's comments in an interview with Politico: "I think we all believe that this is going to end up being a legislative decision, a legislative action—because all of our lawmakers in the House and Senate are going to realize, if they don’t already, that every one of their constituents wants net neutrality."
But in the current political climate that is still a tall order.
"Consumers deserve relief from a never-ending game of regulatory ping pong that harms them, the Internet, and ultimately, the American economy," Cohen said. "We encourage Congress to come together to enact bipartisan legislation and welcome the FCC’s efforts to stimulate an open dialogue and take action to ensure that consumers are protected, while promoting continued investment and innovation in broadband. And legislation will avoid the potential of years more of litigation, a cycle that has lasted almost a decade."
