SAN JOSE, Calif.—Qwest Communications CEO Richard Notebaert on March 15 voiced his company’s commitment to “net neutrality,” saying his company would never block traffic or degrade network performance as a way to maintain competitive advantage.
But with the next breath Notebaert said that government regulation shouldn’t prevent service providers from negotiating “commercial agreements” that allow them to deliver different types or grades of service at a specific price. The market should be allowed to determine how it will package and charge for network services, he said.
“My job has never been to degrade service or to give any customers less capability than they asked for and paid for,” Notebaert said, speaking at the VON (Voice Over Network) Spring Conference here.
However, Notebaert’s position raised questions in the audience about Qwest’s commitment to net neutrality if these commercial agreements might tend to restrict the public access or raise the cost of accessing Internet services or content.