Pai Worried FCC Might Be Heading Toward Title II

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai warned fixed wireless Internet service Providers (WISPs) Wednesday that he is worried the FCC might be headed toward Title II regulation.   

In a speech to WISPAPALOOZA, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association conference in Las Vegas on Oct. 15, Pai took a page from former President Ronald Reagan to make his point. "President Ronald Reagan wisely said that the 'government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.' Unfortunately, I’m worried that’s where the FCC might be headed when it comes to the Internet."  

Saying "everyone wants a free and open Internet," Pai also invoked National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell in his former job. "One decade ago, then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell outlined four principles of Internet Freedom: The freedom to access lawful content, the freedom to use applications, the freedom to attach personal devices to the network, and the freedom to obtain service plan information. Republicans and Democrats, consumers and industry, everyone agreed with these principles." 

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John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.