06.17.10

Senator Cantwell Urges FCC to Stand Up for Online Consumers

Cantwell, 7 Senate colleagues praise today's vote at the FCC to move forward on America's broadband goals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) vote today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) says the FCC has taken an important step forward to protect the millions of American consumers and businesses who rely on broadband service every day.

 

Cantwell joined seven of her colleagues in writing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to offer her support for the FCC’s vote to publicly consider how to best exercise the agency’s broadband oversight responsibilities. Also signing the letter were Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Tom Udall (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), and Tom Harkin (D-IA).

 

“We support the process you are beginning today because we recognize that it is about more than the important goal of a free and open Internet,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “It is about whether we strengthen the communications systems on which our first responders rely, whether Native American and rural communities can share in the benefits of broadband, and whether consumers will have a cop on the broadband beat.”

 

In the Senate, Cantwell has been a strong advocate of net neutrality as well as connecting our nation’s rural communities to advanced communication networks.

 

“Competing in today’s tech-heavy economy requires access to high-speed broadband services and rural Americans can compete with their urban counterparts – if we make sure they have access to the technology they need,” Cantwell said.

 

The letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is available here.

 

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