Lobbyists converge on broadband Web battle

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Lobbyists converge on broadband Web battle
By Kevin Bogardus - 07/30/10 06:00 AM ET


The FCC proposal to bring broadband under tighter regulatory control has triggered a fierce lobbying battle in Washington.

Tech companies, cable firms and phone service providers have upped their lobbying spending. Top technology CEOs have stopped by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s office to express their point of view. And companies that have never hired lobbyists in the past have set up K Street accounts for the first time.

“When you actually move a service from an information service to a telecommunication service, that can completely change business structures,” said Vince Jesaitis, director of government affairs at the Information Technology Industry Council. “It’s not surprising there has been such a big blitz on this in the last couple of months.”

The move to take greater control over broadband is one of several issues that have faced Silicon Valley since President Obama entered the White House. Debates over online privacy, stimulus funds and the international tax structure have all required greater monitoring by tech lobbyists.

But despite the increased lobbying, it is unclear at this point whether the FCC will move forward on its proposal to reclassify broadband without legislative help from Capitol Hill. Genachowski is trying to build a consensus approach among the relevant stakeholders, with AT&T, Google and others at the negotiating table.

At stake, potentially, is the future of the Internet. Net neutrality — a longtime campaign promise of President Obama’s — would require Internet service providers to treat all online traffic equally. Under Genachowski, the FCC has been working to put this principle into action.

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http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/111785-lobbyists-converge-on-web-battle