WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the ranking member on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, made the following statement in response to today’s Supreme Court verdict.

“The Supreme Court’s decision today in the ‘Brand X’ case undercuts the basis upon which the Telecommunications Act was built as a blueprint for national broadband policy. Congress intended that cable broadband services should be treated with the same openness and access that consumers and Internet providers enjoy today over telephone lines. Unfortunately, today’s ruling is both anti-consumer and anti-competition.

“This was not just a highly legal case involving ‘cyber-era semantics.’ Without an open architecture for Internet-based services, consumers may be deprived of the full benefits of competition in terms of price, innovation, service quality and choice. Instead of siding with consumers, competition, and the original intent of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had badly twisted core definitions of the Act at the behest of a cable lobby eager to thwart competition over broadband cable lines.

“The Supreme Court decision today adversely affects national implementation of this pro-competitive policy by endorsing the FCC’s fallacious interpretation. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress, as well as with officials at the FCC, to clarify the law in light of this decision. My goal will be to ensure that national broadband policy reflects the open architecture model of the Internet and remains a medium friendly to innovation, entrepreneurial activity, and consumer-centric communications.”

For more information Representative Markey’s work check out http://www.house.gov/markey/