Net Neutrality: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Defends Policy In Final Speech Before Stepping Down

Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler will step down from his post next week, leaving behind a legacy of policies that will likely be gutted by the incoming administration. Before vacating his position, Wheeler offered up on final defense of his policies.

Wheeler spoke at the Aspen Institute Friday, his final public appearance as the head of the FCC, and used the opportunity to make a case for his signature accomplishment: net neutrality.

In the speech, he noted the FCC oversaw a massive change in the nature of how information is delivered. “The overarching goal of the new policies was to promote a thriving broadband ecosystem, and that’s exactly what has happened,” he said.

Wheeler noted, “network investment is up, investment in innovative services is up, and ISPs revenues and stock prices are at record levels.”

The current FCC chair laid out a two-pronged defense of net neutrality—a policy that requires internet service providers to treat all data as equal, prohibits the creation of fast lanes and slow lanes and prevents carriers from charging services or customers more to access certain data.

Wheeler said net neutrality is a necessity to ensure the privacy of users by regulating data collection practices of service providers and requiring providers to seek user permission before using the private information of its subscribers.

The second part of Wheeler’s defense dealt with the need to increase investment in broadband technology and internet services, taking direct aim at those who view net neutrality as government regulation of the internet and an overstepping of boundaries.

“What some describe as ‘free market economics’ cannot mean simply freeing incumbents of their responsibilities,” he said. “A hands-off approach to network oversight is more than a shift in direction, it is a decision to remove rights and move backward.”

He pointed directly to AT&T, a carrier whose relationship with the FCC has gotten considerably more contentious as Wheeler’s term comes to a close, as an example of why oversight is necessary.

AT&T decided not to count its own streaming television service, DirecTV Now, against its data cap. That might serve as a benefit to AT&T subscribers who want to stream DirecTV Now but it puts alternatives like Dish’s Sling at a distinct disadvantage on the AT&T Network. The practice, called zero-rating, landed AT&T and Verizon in hot water with the FCC earlier this week.

“If you really need proof the Open Internet rule is working, look at how it is being used by its opponents when they operate as edge providers,” Wheeler said “One only has to remember the interconnection and porting debates that hindered the access of over-the-top video providers pre-Open Internet rule to appreciate the importance of an open Internet to everyone — even its opponents.”

Despite Wheeler’s best efforts and lively defense of his prized policies, his speech likely won’t change any minds of the people who are taking power.

The transition team for President-Elect Donald Trump consists of three advocates for repealing net neutrality, including two former lobbyists for telecommunications companies. Those transition members will oversee changes to the FCC, which will lose not only chairman Wheeler but another Democratic member of the board who was not reconfirmed by the Senate.

The two Republican appointed members who remain on the FCC board have both spoken publicly about their intent to roll back net neutrality rules, among other regulations set in place by the FCC under Wheeler.