AT&T put its oar into the net neutrality debate, stating: “it is time for Congress to end the debate once and for all, by writing new laws that govern the internet and protect consumers”.

In full page advertisements in major newspapers, Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO (pictured), said the operator intends to work “with Congress, other internet companies and consumer groups” to push for an “Internet Bill of Rights”, which permanently protects the open internet for all users and “encourages continued investment for the next generation of internet innovation”.

“Legislation would not only ensure consumers’ rights are protected, but it would provide consistent rules of the road for all internet companies across all websites, content, devices and applications. In the very near future, technological advances like self-driving cars, remote surgery and augmented reality will demand even greater performance from the internet. Without predictable rules for how the internet works, it will be difficult to meet the demands of these new technology advances,” AT&T argued.

While the US Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality regulations put in place under the previous administration, there has been vocal opposition to this plan.

Reaction
Perhaps unsurprisingly for such a contentious issue, AT&T’s comments were not welcomed unconditionally.

Stephenson’s assertion such rules should apply “to all internet companies” and cover websites, content, devices and applications, was also seen as a way to ensure players such as Facebook and Google are covered by the regulation.

Harold Feld, SVP at consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, told The Washington Post: “the sad fact is that AT&T and other companies have used the ‘but what about Google?’ argument as a distraction since the net neutrality debate was five minutes old. Ever since we started having this debate, we have had AT&T trying to frame this as being about the evil, freeloading Google [versus] the poor, put-upon ISPs”.

Gigi Sohn, who was an advisor to former FCC chief Tom Wheeler, described AT&T’s efforts as “the ultimate in hypocrisy”.

“Among other things, the company has led the charge to repeal the Wheeler FCC’s strong broadband privacy rules and rules protecting Americans with landline phones, promoted state laws that ban communities from building their own broadband networks, and of course, has been a central player in the FCC’s recent repeal of its network neutrality rules and the agency’s abdication of its role protecting consumers and competition.”

“Make no mistake about it, any ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ supported by AT&T will leave the FCC powerless, net neutrality and privacy protections weak and consumers and competition left out in the cold,” Sohn wrote.