• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, January 2, 2007

AT&T pledged to support Net neutrality principles for the next two years in order to gain approval for its $84.5 billion BellSouth buyout.

In a letter written late last week to the Federal Communications Commission, the telecom vowed to "maintain a neutral network and neutral routing in its wireline broadband Internet access service." Specifically, the company agreed that it would not offer "any service that privileges, degrades or prioritizes any packet transmitted over AT&T/BellSouth's wireline broadband Internet access service based on its "source, ownership or destination." Authorities approved the merger Friday.

The promise is only good for two years from the merger closing date, or the effective date of any Congressional legislation addressing Net neutrality--whichever comes sooner.

Supporters of Net neutrality--or the idea that Internet service providers shouldn't discriminate against Web publishers by charging fees for premium service or blocking access to certain domains--last year urged Congress to enshrine the principles in law. Efforts stalled, but advocates were hopeful that a Democratic-controlled Congress this year will be more likely to pass such legislation.

Currently, Internet service providers usually follow neutrality principles. But executives at some telecoms have indicated that they would like to charge certain Web companies higher fees based on usage, or charge publishers more for faster transmission to consumers.