NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
445 12th Street, S.W.
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D. C. 20554
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
:
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
:
October 10, 2012
Neil Grace, 202-418-0506
Email:
Neil.Grace@fcc.gov
FCC CHAIRMAN TO INTERNATIONAL LEADERS: UPCOMING U.N. CONFERENCE A
CROSSROADS, DEVELOPED AND EMERGING ECONOMIES MUST PRESERVE FREE &
OPEN INTERNET
Says open markets, competition vital for continued broadband growth worldwide
Washington, D.C. – Speaking at the Futurecom conference in Rio de Janeiro today, Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the upcoming World Conference
of International Telecommunications (WCIT) will “be a crossroads for the Internet,” determining whether
it remains free and open, or becomes increasingly impeded by international regulations. He urged leaders
in the developed world and emerging economies to reject proposals for new international regulation of the
Internet.
FCC Chairman Genachowski said, “We have a path that led to the extraordinary growth of broadband and
the Internet - the path of open markets, competition, and the free flow of information - and we should stay
on that path.”
Chairman Genachowski called for the continued preservation of an open Internet as part of a vision which
embraces competition, market-based policies, and the existing multi-stakeholder model of Internet
governance.
“There are proposals that seek to impose on the Internet a new layer of outdated, heavy-handed regulatory
structures and to alter how Internet traffic is exchanged – calling for a so-called ‘sender pays’ approach.
Other proposals would involve the International Telecommunication Union in regulating cybersecurity, or
could be used by countries to support monitoring and restrictions on online communications.
“These types of proposals would replace market forces with international regulations – ignoring the
successes of the past two decades. Some of these proposals seek to protect companies from competition
by giving international bodies authority to determine market outcomes.
“Proposals like these will harm broadband-related innovation and investment throughout the world, and
particularly in less developed countries.
“In short, these changes would stifle the dynamism of the Internet and hamstring the unprecedented
growth and innovation it has fueled. Balkanizing the Internet will not grow any country’s economy. The
opposite is true.”
Delegations will convene in Dubai in December to review the ITRs, or International Telecommunications
Regulations, which govern how international telecommunications traffic is exchanged around the globe.
These ITRs were last negotiated in 1988.
Since that time, competitive market forces have stimulated the incredible growth of wired and wireless
high speed Internet, allowing one-third of the world’s 7 billion people – and millions of Brazilian citizens
- to harness the opportunities of broadband.
“That’s why, from the start, the FCC has been engaged with the rest of the U.S. government in the WCIT
process, and why the dedicated U.S. team has been travelling nonstop for the last several months across
the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia to promote competition and protect a free and open Internet,” said
Genachowski.
TO READ THE CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI’S FULL SPEECH, CLICK HERE.
-FCC-
News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found on the Commission’s web
site
www.fcc.gov .
