On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit brought by Verizon and Metro PCS against the Federal Communications Commission. The two companies sued in January to stop the FCC from imposing so-called “net neutrality” rules on the wireless sector. The court ruled it was too early to file suit against the FCC because the agency hadn’t yet published its new regulations in the Federal Register.
The following statement from Bruce Edward Walker, managing editor of InfoTech & Telecom News and research fellow at The Heartland Institute, may be used for attribution. For further comments, refer to the contact information below.
“This isn’t a setback for Verizon, Metro PCS, or opponents of the network neutrality rules ramrodded through the Federal Communications Commission last December. Instead, the court ruled as it should, because FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has refused to turn in his homework on time by publishing the rules in the Federal Register. Once the rules are filed, the court will dismiss them as it did one year ago – and, one hopes, rebuke the FCC even more harshly than it did last year for Genachowski’s shameless attempt to game the legal system.”
Bruce Edward Walker
Managing Editor, InfoTech & Telecom News
The Heartland Institute
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The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.heartland.org or call 312/377-4000.