WE HAVE A WIN! Net Neutrality: FCC Chairman Proposes To Reclassify Internet Like a Utility

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Ted Johnson
Senior Editor
@tedstew
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed reclassifying the Internet as a Title II telecommunications service, a regulatory maneuver that will allow the agency to set robust rules of the road for the Internet, commonly known as net neutrality.

If the FCC votes for his proposal on Feb. 26, it would mean that Internet providers like Comcast and AT&T would be prohibited from blocking or throttling content, or from creating fast lanes or slow lanes in delivering traffic to the consumer. The rules would apply to wired and mobile broadband, a recognition of the evolution of consumer use of the Internet.

“Using this authority, I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open Internet protections ever proposed by the FCC,” Wheeler wrote in an op ed posted on the Wired magazine website on Wednesday. “…My proposal assures the rights of Internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.”

While Wheeler’s proposal would reclassify Internet service, it also would place some limits on the scope of the FCC’s oversight, restricting it from regulating rates, bundling practices and other powers that government entities exercise over utilities. The limitations — known in regulatory jargon as “forbearance” — are meant to respond to criticisms that such an approach would burden 21st century technology with 20th century regulation.

http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/net-neutrality-fcc-chairman-proposes-to-reclassify-internet-like-a-utility-1201422752/