While the side pushing against stringent net neutrality has been largely defined as corporate interest fueled by cable giants like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), some pretty major corporations are quietly asking the FCC for strong Title II-themed guidelines.
Citing FCC documents, Businessweek reports that an alliance of Fortune 500 companies with more subtle interests in the net neutrality issue, led by Ford, Visa, United Parcel Service and Bank of America, have urged the FCC in meetings to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Federal Communications Act.
As Businessweek notes, none of the Fortune 500 companies mentioned have spoken about the net neutrality issue publicly.
According to the report, the tight-lipped corporate advocacy group Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee has had three meetings with FCC commissioners this year.
The group, which has no website or other public face, didn't disclose the agenda of those meetings. But FCC documents report that the meeting subject was titled "Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet," and topics included "ending access monopolies."
The following executives were in attendance: Nicholas Lewis, senior VP for federal legislative affairs for UPS; James Carroll, Washington, D.C. counsel for Ford Motor Co.; Carole Holshouser, government relations leader for Visa; and Lawrence Chattoo, senior VP for regulatory and public policy at BofA.
For more:
- read this Businessweek story
Related links:
FCC wants AT&T to provide information on fiber investment delay
FCC delays net neutrality decision until next year following Obama's statement
Comcast says it agrees with the President on net neutrality … to a point