Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Robert McDowell took the high road today refusing to participate in the agency’s vote on the proposed AT&T-BellSouth merger.

McDowell’s decision strikes a positive note for Net Neutrality.

Without McDowell, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin can no longer ram through approval of the $82 billion deal without first negotiating conditions with Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

Copps and Adelstein have sought to bar AT&T from offering discriminatory treatment to Web sites and online services that pay the phone giant’s extra tolls for high speed access — a move that would undermine the Internet’s historic openness to new ideas and innovation.

Martin had put McDowell under intense pressure to rubber-stamp the AT&T deal without these consumer protections.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board on Tuesday trumpeted McDowell’s refusal to vote and chastised Martin, writing that “the merger should not be approved unless there is a guarantee that AT&T will offer a level playing field to websites and online services, at least until their customers have more choices for high-speed Internet connections.”

Chairman Martin has proved time and time again that he’s all about serving special interests in the phone and cable lobby and not those of the average American consumer.

His maneuvering on behalf of political and business cronies has already prompted call for the chairman’s resignation. New leaders of the incoming Congress have also warned Martin to avoid “compromising ethical standards” in the AT&T decision.

Public accountability on the AT&T merger may be Martin’s one chance to save himself — and those of is who are subject to his decisions.

It seems AT&T and Martin are slowly learning – along with certain members of Congress — that you can’t simply do the bidding of AT&T without suffering a public backlash. It’s now Martin’s turn to take the high road and set the stage for a net neutral, consumer-friendly resolution of this merger.

You can help persuade the FCC chairman by joining the more than 20,000 people who have signed this letter to “urge your members of Congress to step in, stop Martin’s ethical lapse and save Internet freedom.”

This entry was posted on Monday, December 18th, 2006 at 7:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized.-->