NEW YORK — AT&T is the latest company to weigh in on Google and Verizon’s joint proposal to establish rules on how deeply broadband operators can manage the traffic riding on their networks.
“It’s a positive sign that shows that those two companies can agree on something as different as net neutrality,” Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T’s consumer and mobile divisions, said Wednesday.
He called it the right step.
The framework — signed as an alternate solution to the issue of “net neutrality” rather than government intervention — has quickly drawn criticism and praise from both sides. Broadband providers have been generally accepting of the proposal, while Internet companies have railed against it, particularly because the proposal leaves the door open for carriers to charge extra fees for private specialized networks and excludes mobile networks from any of the guidelines.
Facebook came out Tuesday against the proposal.
Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications echoed AT&T’s sentiment but said it had some reservations about allowing last-mile carriers — generally large carriers such as Verizon and AT&T — the ability to charge for “paid priority data service.”
