AT&T looks to flip net rules debate on Google

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc said any new "net neutrality" rules imposed by U.S. regulators need to apply to Web companies like Google Inc as much as to phone companies to ensure a level playing field.

In a letter Friday to the head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau, the biggest U.S. telephone company argued that Google would have an unfair advantage if its Voice service is not subject to the same rules proposed by the FCC on phone operators.

"To the extent 'net neutrality' is animated by a concern about ostensible Internet 'gatekeepers,' that concern must necessarily apply to application, service, and content providers," Robert Quinn, AT&T's senior vice president for federal regulations, wrote to the FCC's Sharon Gillett. More...

09-27-2009 12:20