Sen Nelson: We can't put a straightjacket on the FCC

Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) said that one of the key challenges for the telecommunications industry is that the government needs to give the industry's key regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, flexibility to adapt as new applications and service segments emerge.

Ranking Member Nelson said that the telecom industry is in a constant state of change and that the FCC needs to have freedom to develop new rules and regulations that protect consumers and businesses. "The world will be different in a year in the [telecom] industry than what it is now," Ranking Member Nelson said. "If we put a straightjacket on the FCC, we may very much miss the future and leave the agency powerless and American consumers defenseless to deal with the emerging problems." "I have made no bones that I want to remain open to true bipartisan Congressional action on net neutrality, but at this point I can't tell you that that is possible," Sen Nelson said. "From this senator's standpoint, the legislature must protect consumers, it must not undercut the FCC's role, and it must leave the agency with flexible, forward looking authority to respond to the changes in a dynamic and evolving industry as this broadband marketplace is." He added that policy makers need to alleviate the uncertainty that's emerged from legal challenges from the National Cable Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the USTelecom Association.