When Verizon and Metro PCS filed challenges to the FCC’s recently adopted Net Neutrality guidelines, the FCC told them they acted too early because the guidelines hadn’t yet been published in the Federal Register. But this time, it’s the Net Neutrality supporters that have jumped the gun.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski yesterday, MetroPCS defended itself against pro-Net Neutrality consumer groups that previously accused the carrier of possibly violating the new guidelines.
“The Net Neutraity Order purposefully allowed a period of time—which has not yet run—before the new rules become effective in order to give carriers an opportunity to take the steps necessary to comply with the new rules,” wrote MetroPCS in the letter.
It has been widely speculated that MetroPCS’ challenge to the Net Neutrality guidelines was prompted, in part, by charges made against the carrier by Consumers Union and Media Access Project. The consumer groups had expressed concern that MetroPCS’ tiered 4G pricing might not meet Net Neutrality guidelines.
The MetroPCS letter argues not only that the consumer groups acted too early but that their charges are unfounded. The company says it is not blocking consumers from accessing lawful websites or applications that compete with its own voice or video telephony services, that its tiered content pricing plan is a reasonable network management practice, and that it has no “pay for priority” relationship with You Tube.
When the Net Neutrality guidelines were issued, the FCC deliberately made rules for wireless carriers less strict than for wireline carriers—and the MetroPCS letter contains numerous examples that illustrate why that was a good idea. The carrier argues, for example, that because it has a narrower spectrum band than its competitors, it had to come up with a special way to deliver You Tube traffic because without it, customers would not be able to watch the popular web site.