Business Regulation
Verizon and Google Defend Net Neutrality Moves, but Neglect Wireless Rules
Kiplinger News
August 11, 2010
Verizon and Google say they are interested in establishing a framework for future telecom regulation, but their policy proposal only applies to wireline internet.
Net neutrality supporters say the policies proposed by the companies will limit small companies' access to the internet and put a damper on innovation. But the corporations have come out in defense of their agreement - saying, in fact, that they are in support of open internet standards.
"There should be a new, enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices," Google wrote on its public policy blog August 9. "For the first time, wireline broadband providers would not be able to discriminate against or prioritize lawful internet content."
Notably, though, the companies say their proposed rules wouldn't apply to the wireless internet. Both firms are winning greater clout in the mobile web: Google has long been the market leader in mobile search, and Verizon is generating more revenue from mobile data with every passing quarter.
According to a report released August 10 by Chetan Sharma Consulting, in fact, Verizon surpassed Japan's NTT DoCoMo as the world's No. 1 data-revenue generator this year. And in the second quarter, U.S. mobile-data revenue rose 22 percent from a year earlier - so regulators may need to address mobile-web rules soon.
