Chairman Rockefeller's Statement on FCC's Decision to Seek Public Comment on Broadband Regulation

June 17, 2010

JDR Head ShotWASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement today in response to the FCC’s notice of inquiry (NOI) to seek public comment on reclassifying broadband Internet service under existing law:

“The recent court decision in the Comcast case was unfortunate - it created big questions about the FCC’s ability to meaningfully protect consumers in this new broadband age. For this reason, I support the agency seeking comment. As I have said previously, in the short term this is the right course and the right thing to do. In the long term, however, I believe we need to develop consensus to update the law, further safeguard consumers, and spur universal broadband deployment.”

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