Because no one else has posted it anywhere, I have transcribed below the relevant portion of Wheeler’s responses to questions at the March 31 FCC Press Conference following the meeting.
http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-march-2014
at 144:45
Q: Gauthum Naugesh, Wall St. J. You’ve previously indicated that you didn’t think the Commission should have much more of a role regulating “peering,” or interconnection between big content providers and ISPs. Is that how you feel now? We’ve seen Netflix and some others call for peering to be included in the net neutrality debate.
Wheeler: I’m not sure where you’re quoting that I said that. One of the things that I have said repeatedly, is that part of the Network Compact is interconnection. And ‘peering’ is a $3.50 word in Internet society for interconnection.
[unrelated q]
at 146:08
Q: Tom Risen with U.S. News and World Report. With the merger being reviewed between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, is it possible that one of the conditions, conditions sets, could be the future of peering agreements, or other net neutrality regulations that the new company would have to abide by?
Wheeler: Wow Tom, you’re way down the road on this.
Risen: A lot of people are.
Wheeler: This hasn’t been filed yet.
Risen: A lot of people are looking ahead to how the conditions could look.
Wheeler: We have nothing on the record right now, to make a decision like that.
146:45
Brendan Sasso: Hi Chairman. I just want to follow up on Gauthum’s question. You’ve mentioned that peering is something you do want to look at. Is that something you want to look at in the net neutrality proceeding?
Wheeler: I think one of the things that I have said along the way is that peering is not a net neutrality issue. There is a matter of ‘The Open Internet’ then there is a matter of interconnection among various disparate pathways that become the Internet.
