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June 5, 2006
Member of Congress
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Honorable Representative:
I am writing to encourage your support for legislation that facilitates competition in the provision of video and high-speed Internet service to Americans and preserves the ability of consumers to access any lawful Internet site, content, services, applications, and devices and use the capability of the Internet without interference from broadband network operators. During consideration of H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act (“COPE Act”), we expect the House will vote on an amendment that would protect consumers and preserve this openness and we respectfully urge members to support adding such perfecting language to the bill.
Microsoft is a provider of applications and services that enable consumers to make use of broadband networks and also is a partner of infrastructure providers in offering cutting-edge video services. From this perspective, we believe it is important for telephone and cable companies to continue to develop high-capacity networks and we support pro-competitive legislative efforts to this end. In this regard, we encourage you to support legislative provisions, such as those in the COPE Act that reduce regulatory barriers to telephone companies entering the video distribution business and also rationalize the regulation of existing providers. These provisions will send the right signal to the network operators to invest in the next-generation pipes that will distribute video and Internet content.
At the same time, it is vital that Congress preserves an environment in which companies can continue to develop and make available innovative new Internet content, services, applications, and devices, and consumers who demand and benefit from such innovations are able to access and use these products and services without interference. The Internet has been an engine for growth and innovation because the capability of the Internet was made available to all persons without favor. The knowledge that consumers could reach any lawful Internet content, and that a new web site could reach any consumer without seeking permission, motivated Internet companies to invest, innovate, and compete in the marketplace – to the benefit of everyone.
The actions taken by Congress today could dictate whether or not the United States will continue to lead the world in Internet-related technologies, communications, content, and services over the next decade. We therefore strongly believe that it is critical to ensure network operators continue to adhere to core values of equity and openness in providing access to content and services on the Internet. To this end, the COPE Act should include meaningful and enforceable mechanisms that ensure consumers can access the Internet content, applications, services, and devices of their choosing and retain the open nature of the Internet.
We applaud Congress’s leadership in tackling franchise reform and other targeted measures to promote broadband deployment and to foster the ability of traffic to transit new technologies and networks. It is vitally important that these measures also include legislation that ensures network neutrality, and I hope you will consider strengthening the bill in this area during floor consideration. We believe that such a balanced, comprehensive, and thoughtful approach to the current reform debate will protect and promote significant investments in infrastructure, encourage development and innovation, and still ensure the delivery of adequate and affordable services to end-users.
We appreciate your support on these issues and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you and the bipartisan leadership in Congress. Please do not hesitate to call on us should you need further information on these important issues.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jack Krumholtz
Managing Director, Federal Government Affairs
Associate General Counsel
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