Sprint CEO: Without Net neutrality rules, we're toast

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure praised the Federal Communications Commission's decision to implement rules governing the open Internet -- which includes wireless data -- arguing that his company couldn't survive without them. "Unless there is light-touch regulation that oversees AT&T and Verizon, they are going to drive us out of business," he said. Claure acknowledged that the company's stance on network neutrality may not make him popular among other wireless providers, including some of the smaller rural operators with whom he shared a stage at the conference. But he said that without the regulation, Sprint and any other company trying to compete with AT&T and Verizon are dead in the water. "I'd rather there be light-touch regulation than a complete free-for-all," he said.

His comments on a light regulatory touch refer to the FCC's move to strip out the more onerous regulations set up for old-fashioned telephone service, including the FCC's power to set rates and force providers like AT&T to open up access to their lines by competitors.