New GOP telecom team decries FCC process

A day after announcing their new roles, the GOP's telecom leaders got straight to business, coming out in force against the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) network neutrality proceeding.

Incoming House Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Vice Communications Chairman Lee Terry (R-Nebraska) wrote to the FCC with concerns that the agency has not been transparent about its effort to regulate Internet lines. They demanded that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski release the text of his network neutrality proposal, which the FCC will vote on next week. They said the draft should be subject to public comment, or at least revealed so that stakeholders can meet with the FCC about the proposal. "Your proposal to adopt network neutrality rules is likely the most controversial item the FCC has had before it in at least a decade. It holds huge implications for the future of the Internet, investment, innovation, and jobs," they said, arguing that the process has been cloaked in "secrecy."

Rep Upton went on to promise to "vigorously fight any effort to regulate the Internet, pledging strict oversight of the FCC and hearings early in the 112th Congress."