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Employees of one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country are invited by their bosses to sign a petition against the law on net neutrality adopted a week ago by the California legislature.
In an email sent Thursday to employees of Frontier Communications, a major internet, television and telephone service provider in 29 states, West Region Vice President Joe Gamble said the Senate's bill California
"We are asking Governor Brown to veto a law that harms Frontier's business, our partners and our employees," Gamble wrote, according to a copy of the e-mail leaked to Gizmodo.
S.B. 822, which aims to restore the protections of net neutrality suppressed by the Trump administration this year, must be signed or denied by Governor Jerry Brown by September 30.
The bill represents the most ambitious attempt by a state to isolate consumers from the repeal by the Federal Communications Commission of the Open Internet Act 2015, prohibiting access providers broadband such as Frontier, Verizon and AT & T.
Gamble's e-mail also points employees to a website that asks them to "make their voices heard" by signing a pre-written letter to the governor. The petition, which claims S.B. 822 is "unnecessary and detrimental regulation that will generate significant new costs for consumers," says the law that would significantly impede Frontier's ability to invest in its network infrastructure.
"I am proud to work at Frontier and help operate a network that is part of an incredibly powerful Internet ecosystem that is the backbone of our economy and our daily lives," continues the letter, adding that SB 822 "Will harm consumers and impose complex layers of costly regulation".
The e-mail indicates that the participation is "entirely voluntary" and indicates to the employees that they can sign the petition "at work or during your free time". Although the e-mail does not explicitly mention S.B. 822 is a threat to anyone's work, he claims the bill would be "bad" for Frontier employees. (Digital advertising paid by CalInnovates, a non-profit organization supported by AT & T, dubiously called S.B. 822 akiller jobDeclare lawmakers who support it "risk more than 45,000 good jobs for hardworking Californians".)
During a phone call to Gizmodo, SB The author of 822, Senator Scott Wiener, described Frontier's letter as "propaganda," claiming that it reflected false claims perpetuated by astroturf campaigns since the presentation of his bill.
"Basically, they say," If we are not allowed to block websites and have fast lanes and slow lanes, consumer choice will decrease and prices will rise, "said Wiener. absurd."
The assertion that network neutrality rules are hurting investment in broadband is not new. It is a topic of conversation for the telecommunications industry, which has been taken up by its lobbyists and supporters for many years. More recently, FCC President Ajit Pai has called the Internet neutrality "the biggest deterrent to network investment," while pushing to overturn the rules of neutrality of Barack Obama's network. There is significant evidence, however, that the claim has no basis in reality.
In 2016, the year after the vote on the Open Internet Order, investments in cable networks rose sharply, according to data collected and analyzed by the Free Press advocacy group. Compared with the two years before the vote, the next two years saw a 48% increase in investments in basic network infrastructure. Similarly, the network investment of small cable or direct-to-home satellite operators has increased.
While lobbyists for providers such as AT & T, Comcast and Charter have said that the order of neutrality of the internet would destroy their business, executives of the same companies have categorically denied any negative impact in the transcripts calls with their investors.
"For almost three years as the Obama Order was in place, these companies have made huge investments in infrastructure and accumulated huge profits and cash reserves," Wiener said. "Saying" this will impoverish us, "and then spend nearly $ 100 billion to buy Time Warner, shows just how false these claims are," he added, referring to the acquisition of the company. AT & T this year. announced on October 22, 2016, four months after a US court of appeal upheld the order of net neutrality now repealed.
Californian residents most affected by S.B. 822, according to Frontier, are the rural residents who will suffer the most. In its letter to Governor Brown, the company says the legislation will not only deter investment but will also delay broadband roll-out in areas that still do not have broadband access.
"To the extent that they have trouble extending or upgrading their network in rural California, it literally has nothing to do with network neutrality," says Ernesto Falcon, legislative counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "The challenges that rural America faces are no different from the past challenges we have faced in promoting access to electricity, water and roads."
"We have never criticized consumer protection rules in the past, but instead we have addressed infrastructure challenges with significant public investment," he continued. "As long as we do not do the same thing with broadband, rural Americans will continue to be left behind."
In addition, consumers in rural areas are often limited in their access to the Internet, with most having only one option for Internet service providers. In the end, this means that rural subscribers are particularly vulnerable to discriminatory behavior by Internet service providers. The EFF argues that it is the customers who are most in need of network neutrality.
Asked to expand the way SB 822 could hinder its ability to invest and develop its infrastructure, Frontier Vice President Javier Mendoza repeated the claims contained in the petition sent to employees, telling Gizmodo the regulation at the state level and delaying broadband investment in California, especially in rural areas. Frontier, he said, has never blocked or restricted customers' access to content and has always
"We invited our employees to willingly join us, "added Mendoza (emphasis)," if they agree with our position and want to make their voices heard ".
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