• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 4, 2010

The companies reportedly have agreed that Verizon won't degrade traffic on its wired network, but that the company is free to do so on its wireless network.

It's not clear what impact this potential agreement will have on the Federal Communications Commission or on Congress, but one possibility is that the deal will help shape any potential laws or regulation that emerge.

Already net neutrality advocates are condemning the pact. "Two of the largest companies – Google and Verizon – have reportedly agreed to abandon consumer protections, filter content and limit choice and free speech on the mobile Internet. If true, the deal is a bold grab for market power by two monopolistic players. Such abuse of the open Internet would put to final rest the Google mandate to 'do no evil,'" Free Press president and CEO Josh Silver said in a statement.

Public Knowledge president and co-founder Gigi B. Sohn also criticized the agreement. "The deal between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is deeply regrettable and should be considered meaningless," she said in a statement. "The fate of the Internet is too large a matter to be decided by negotiations involving two companies, even companies as big as Verizon and Google, or even the six companies and groups engaged in other discussions at the Federal Communications Commission."