US: Obama’s Net Neutrality demands have top telcos on edge

President Barack Obama called for the “strongest possible rules” to protect Net Neutrality in the nation Monday, sending leading telcos and their investors on edge about those rules’ impact on competition and industry mergers currently under review.

Experts say the White House’s call to ban Internet fast lanes and block service providers’ ability to charge content providers for faster content delivery could mean officials will demand more concessions from Comcast’s plans to acquire Time Warner Cable. That $45.2 billion merger is under review by the Federal Communications Commission, which is also considering the next steps for Net Neutrality regulation.

Comcast has previously vowed to preserve Net Neutrality, but it is unclear exactly what federal officials will demand from the parties if the acquisition moves forward.

Verizon, meanwhile, released a statement in response to President Obama’s remarks, warning that such intense regulation of the Internet “would be a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open Internet, competition and innovation.” The communications conglomerate added that the FCC already has sufficient power to protect the open Internet and competition.

Full content: Bloomberg

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