FCC gathers feuding camps; olive branch fails to ease Verizon's fire

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) brought feuding camps together Monday when it held a meeting on broadband regulation with lobbyists from major Internet service providers and tech companies, according to a letter obtained by The Hill.

The companies' top lobbyists met with the FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus as well as policy officials Paul de Sa and Zachary Katz for an unannounced meeting that caught consumer advocates off guard.  The FCC moved to resolve broadband issues through a formal proceeding last week, rather than through outside talks.

Representing access providers at Monday's meeting were Verizon's Tom Tauke, AT&T's James Cicconi, and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's Kyle McSlarrow.

Tech company lobbyists included Google's Alan Davidson, Skype's Christopher Libertelli, and the Open Internet Coalition's (OIC) Markham Erickson.

A senior FCC official confirmed on Tuesday that the FCC is having stakeholder discussions but would not elaborate on the content of the talks.

The revelation of insider discussions infuriated consumer activists at Free Press and Public Knowledge who have not been invited individually but who are represented in OIC.

"We don't think there is any point to those meetings, whether we were included or not -- and we were not," said Public Knowledge spokesman Art Brodsky.

Brodsky questioned whether any deal arising from such meetings would have force.

"Even if those meetings resulted in an agreement, which is dubious, the FCC wouldn't have the authority to do anything about it. And it's highly unlikely Congress will pass any legislation on the issue," he said.

Free Press president Josh Silver called the development "stunning" and knocked the FCC for undermining President Obama's transparency promises.

The move toward an industry deal meshes with indications from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last week that he is open to considering broadband regulatory regimes other than the one his office has proposed.

"There’s no point in having a notice and comment process unless people bring an open mind," Genachowski said at a meeting last week in which the commission voted to reexamine broadband regulation.

The effort to alter broadband regulations follows an April appeals court decision that some argue undermined the FCC's power to regulate broadband service providers and to act on key agenda items, including the expansion of broadband access and the creation of net neutrality rules.  


In a debate characterized by major lobbying expenditures and aggressive public relations campaigns, the revelation of stakeholder talks do not appear to have silenced the rhetoric.

Only a day after the FCC held its meetings, Verizon president and CEO Ivan Seidenberg took a podium in Washington and blasted the agency's broadband policies. 

Warning that the agency may be throwing "sand in the gears" of the digital economy, Seidenberg described the commission's regulatory proposals as "overbearing" and "unimaginative."

The FCC's plan to change how broadband is regulated is tantamount to "retrofitting a new industry with an old framework," he said, speaking at an Economic Club of Washington forum on Tuesday.

Congress has also turned an eye toward broadband issues, with chairmen on the authorizing committees calling for legislation to update communications law, which has not been overhauled for 14 years. Staff-led talks with stakeholders are scheduled to begin on Friday.

Republicans almost unanimously oppose the FCC's plan for broadband regulatory changes. The relevant ranking members have already indicated they do not see a need for new legislation.