Last week, TechFreedom brought together a panel of experts to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Kingsbury Commitment and discuss how to promote universal service in the 21st century. It began with a keynote by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, which was featured on Multichannel News:
FCC commissioner Ajit Pai warned Dec. 19 against government micromanagement of the IP transition, but he also said to beware of companies bearing voluntary commitments.
That came in a speech at a TechFreedom Forum commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Kingsbury Commitment, a voluntary pledge to the government by AT&T that Pai says was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
While AT&T pledged to divest itelf of telegraph competitor Western Union, to stop acquiring independent phone companies and to interconnection with independents, Pai called it a “triumph” for AT&T’s strategy to monopolize the industry by “consolidation and regulation” which he says actually shielded it from true competition.He said it was the beginning of the “cozy” regulated monopoly relationship with the government.
Read the full article, and check out the event video and transcript of Commissioner Pai’s address.