Chairman Kevin Martin

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street SW

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Martin,

I am writing to register my strong opposition to the merger of AT&T and BellSouth without a permanent Network Neutrality requirement.

We are witnessing a wave of concentration in the telecommunications market that threatens to sweep away the free and open Internet. A nondiscriminatory platform for online communications and commerce has given us the greatest engine of democratic communication and entrepreneurial innovation in modern times. Permitting the further consolidation of the broadband market without meaningful, enforceable Net Neutrality protections would be irresponsible policymaking.

The federal government must not permit the reconstitution of Ma Bell without first protecting consumers and the public against anti-competitive activities and market failure. No public interest goals are served by handing out favors to large corporations without any safeguards to maximize public benefit.

The future of the Internet is at stake. I urge you to take this opportunity to serve the public interest by making nondiscrimination on the Internet a permanent condition of the AT&T-BellSouth merger.

 Sincerely,

Ronnie Cummins

National Director

Organic Consumers Association