AT&T to pause fiber spending on FCC net neutrality uncertainty
fcc
By Marina Lopes | Reuters – 1 hour 12 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc on Wednesday raised
pressure on the U.S. telecom regulator's work on new "net neutrality"
rules, saying it would stop investing in new high-speed Internet connections in
100 U.S. cities until the Web traffic rules are settled.
The statement from AT&T Chief Executive Officer
Randall Stephenson is the first business move by an Internet service provider
in response to President Barack Obama's unexpected call on the Federal
Communications Commission on Monday to regulate such companies more like public
utilities.
The statement came as AT&T has been spending heavily
on acquisitions and days after it had cut its capital spending estimate for
2015.
The industry and Republican lawmakers have been
protesting Obama's proposal, saying stricter Internet traffic regulations would
stifle growth and investment.
"We can't go out and invest that kind of money
deploying fiber to 100 cities not knowing under what rules those investments
will be governed," Stephenson said at an analyst conference.
In April, AT&T said it would deploy its high-speed
fiber network in 100 cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.
Ensuring access to quality Internet for all Americans has
been the FCC's major focus. The White House detailed Obama's plan in a blog
post on Monday, saying that if implemented, it "shouldn’t create any new
burden for Internet providers."
Telecommunications companies plan to fight Obama's call
for utility-style regulations in Congress and the courts.
More than three dozen congressional Republicans on
Wednesday wrote to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that Obama's proposed regulatory
changes were "beyond the scope of the FCC's authority."
AT&T, whose $48.5 billion bid for DirecTV is under
government review, said on Friday that it would also pay $1.7 billion to
acquire Mexican wireless operator Iusacell. It trimmed its 2015 capital
spending outlook to $18 billion from $21 billion.
At the same conference on Wednesday, Verizon
Communications Inc Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo struck a somewhat
lighter tone but also said the FCC could restrict "paid
prioritization" deals, where content companies pay for faster downloads of
some websites or applications, without pursuing utility-style regulations.
"I think the independent agency of the FCC will make
the right decision," Shammo said.
(Reporting by Marina Lopes; Additional reporting by Alina
Selyukh; Editing by Franklin Paul and Lisa Von Ahn)
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