Recently, net neutrality has emerged as an issue of growing concern to Americans who believe they should be in charge of their own internet experience without interference or influence from their service provider. At GCI, we agree. GCI has long been a supporter of internet freedom for our customers. That’s why we were surprised when the Juneau Empire editorial board used GCI to speculate about threats to an open internet in their Nov. 23 opinion piece.
The editorial board used three fantasy scenarios, each of which we found troubling: GCI policy will be dictated by outsiders opposed to internet freedom, GCI is going to throttle Netflix, and GCI could prevent access to Permanent Fund Dividends. None of this speculation is accurate and we appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight.
GCI came to the conclusion decades ago that it was good business and good policy for us to empower our customers to use their data service as they choose for any lawful purpose. That approach has been a cornerstone of our success. We have no intention of damaging the value of our flagship consumer product by changing a philosophy that has been in place for decades.
The Empire Board describes a scenario in which GCI would slow down access to Netflix to force our customers to watch more cable programming. This scenario couldn’t be further from the truth. GCI is always working with online content providers to improve the quality of services so that our customers have the best streaming experience possible. We’ve worked for years to build strong working relationships with companies like Netflix because they provide the kind of entertainment choices that our customers demand.
The most extreme example in the piece suggests that GCI could block Alaskans from accessing www.pfd.alaska.gov in order to prevent them from signing up for their Permanent Fund Dividend. We are aware that our support for using a portion of the Permanent Fund earnings to help solve the state fiscal crisis (which is a threat to the PFD) isn’t popular with everyone. We’ll own that. But the idea that we’d interfere with Alaskans’ signing up for the dividend is straight out of a bad science fiction novel.
GCI has never wavered in our belief that customers should be in control of their own internet experience. We’ve adhered to that philosophy for more than two decades — long before the 2015 Net Neutrality order — and we will continue to adhere to that belief regardless of any decision made in Washington, D.C.
In closing, let us state again for the record: GCI has always been committed to an open internet that gives our customers the freedom to be in charge of their online experience. An open internet means we do not block, prevent or otherwise impair our customers’ freedom to direct their own online activity. This is a commitment we stand by unequivocally. And that will not change.
Paul Landes of Anchorage is GCI’s senior vice president for consumer services. He resides in Anchorage. My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.
