Intel, IBM and Qualcomm come out swinging against Net Neutrality
Far as we can tell, the only people against net neutrality are the ones who want to keep holding Netflix to ransom. That said, those companies who actually build the network equipment and lay the cables for America's broadband network are now taking sides with AT&T and Verizon. In an open letter to both congress and the FCC, a group of 60 companies that include Qualcomm and Cisco, argue that proper regulation of the internet will risk the end of national investment in telecommunications infrastructure.
It appears that AT&T's decision to throw a hissy fit stop building out its gigabit fiber internet service has prompted the missive. CEO Randall Stevenson claims that his company is merely waiting to see what the FCC decides, but given Ma Bell's distaste for net neutrality, it's clear where his loyalties lie. Should the protest continue, then it's companies like Nokia Networks and Broadcom that'll feel the pinch.
As far as companies like IBM and Intel are concerned, reclassifying broadband as a utility will prompt the networks to halt their building plans altogether. Were that to happen, it's claimed that US investment in broadband could fall by as much as $45 billion in the next five years. With that sort of money no longer in the system, the tech businesses will begin to suffer, quickly followed by the rest of the economy. It's at this point the letter whips out the word "recession," and heavily implies that net neutrality will send the country spiraling into another depression. That doesn't sound like scaremongering to us, no siree.
[Image Credit: Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images]
