Google And Verizon Deny Net-Neutrality Bypass Talks

Storm in a teacup time today, with an NYT report suggesting that Google and Verizon were secretly conspiring to bypass net neutrality, and then a flurry of denials from all involved.  According to the original report, Google was negotiating with Verizon to enable so-called tiered service, which would see sites – such as YouTube – willing to pay for a fatter pipe being rewarded with better bandwidth.  Google disagree; they told Gizmodo that "The NYT is quite simply wrong. We have not had any conversations with Verizon about paying for carriage of Google or YouTube traffic. We remain as committed as we always have been to an open Internet."

The sentiment was echoed on one of the search giant's Twitter accounts.  Meanwhile Verizon has thrown their oar in too, roundly decrying the NYT's suggestion that the two companies were planning some sort of financial system whereby certain data would be prioritized:

"The NYT article regarding conversations between Google and Verizon is mistaken. It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. As we said in our earlier FCC filing, our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability, and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect." Verizon

Both companies say they are still taking part in the ongoing FCC investigation into broadband delivery regulation, and that their own talks – which were portrayed by the NYT as precipitated thanks to Google and Verizon being "frustrated with that lack of progress in the last two months" – are not financially oriented.