The Smartest Net Neutrality Comment Just Came From The Oddest Source

As the FCC prepares to rule on Net Neutrality next month, all parties are drawing their line in the sand. Whether interested parties like it or not, the FCC is going to have to make a ruling on the future of the Internet. Many mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T are opposed to any kind of reclassification, which would make them move governable. Net Neutrality won't make many friends for the FCC, but a new line of commentary from a strange source might be the wisest yet.

Sprint has come out of the shadows to lay out their idea of what Net Neutrality should and shouldn't be. In an open letter to the FCC, the carrier says "Sprint does not believe that a light touch application of Title II, including appropriate forbearance, would harm the continued investment in, and deployment of, mobile broadband service."

This endorsement of sorts is not without some caveats. Appropriately, Sprint asks the FCC to ensure carriers like themselves still have control. With their blessing, Sprint also laid out the conditions for such:

So long as the FCC continues to allow wireless carriers to manage our networks and differentiate our products, Sprint will continue to invest in data networks regardless or whether they are regulated by Title II, Section 706, or some other light touch regulatory regime.

In a nutshell, Sprint wants a free and open Internet, but they also want to be able to continue to do business as usual. They're trusting the FCC to do what they feel is right so long as the FCC trusts Sprint (and other carriers, by virtue) in turn.

I never thought I'd say this, but maybe other carriers should take a page from Sprint's playbook.

The FCC is set to rule on 'Net Neutrality' on February 26.