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Oct. 24, 2009

Former presidential candidate Senator John McCain, who introduced legislation Thursday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from enacting its proposed rules to regulate the Internet is now siding with the CTIA (Cellular Telephone Industries Association) and he's making certain that his opinion on Net Neutrality is well understood.

John McCain noted that the wireless industry exploded over the past twenty years due to limited government regulation. Wireless carriers have invested over $100 billion in infrastructure and development over the past three years, which has led to faster mobile networks, more competitors in the marketplace and even lower prices to the consumer compared to any other country.

Meanwhile, landlines and wireless networks have become a slow dying breed as they are mired in state and federal regulations, universal service contribution requirements and limitations on use, said McCain.

McCain introduced the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, designed to keep the Web free from government intervention and regulation.

"It will allow for continued innovation that will in turn create more high-paying jobs for the millions of Americans who are out of work or seeking new employment," McCain said in a statement. "Keeping businesses free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy."

It isn't still clear how much support the Internet Freedom Act will get, however. Reuters reports that more than 70 House Democrats in recent days have written the FCC expressing concern over net neutrality regulations.

The FCC is looking at a range of issues affecting the wireless industry. Late yesterday, CTIA filed reply comments in response to the FCC's Notice of Inquiry into the state of competition in wireless.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Times before the FCC's vote yesterday, McCain said the proposed new rules should be viewed as another government "power grab" over a private service provided by private companies in a competitive marketplace.

Last February, the government moved to control much of the auto industry and the banking industry, "so it should come as no surprise that the government now wishes to control the technology industry by regulating its very core: the Internet," he wrote.

The CTIA said that updated data from the Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey reaffirms that consumers strongly continue to embrace wireless services and that significant ongoing network investments are indicative of healthy competition among wireless carriers.

Internet-capable wireless devices on carriers' networks rose from 210.6 million in June of last year to 237.1 million as of June of this year, meaning as many as 85.7 percent of the nation's 276.6 million subscribers now have a device that enables mobile access to the Internet, the association said.

Furthermore, the overall number of smartphones and wireless-enabled PDAs reported on wireless carriers' networks as of June 2009 was 40.7 million, and the number of wireless-enabled laptops, aircards and wireless modems reported on mobile carriers' networks was 10.8 million.

There's no doubt that the trend is growing rapidly the CTIA asserts.

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Source: The CTIA.