FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Hints Net Neutrality Rules Will Treat Broadband as a Utility

This is huge - and it’s exactly what all of us have been asking for.

Wheeler delivered his remarks almost one year to the date that a federal court struck down the agency’s Open Internet Order. In the aftermath of that ruling, Wheeler released rules that would have allowed rampant discrimination online, setting off a year of backlash from innovators, artists, journalists, politicians and ordinary Internet users.

And Wheeler’s move toward Title II wouldn’t have happened without all of this activism, advocacy and political pressure to protect the open Internet.

Wheeler’s speech is the first public statement signaling the direction the FCC is likely to move in. The agency is currently drafting new rules, which are slated for a vote on Feb. 26.

“The chairman appears to have finally heard the demands of the millions of Internet users who have called for real Net Neutrality protections,” said Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron. “The FCC’s past decisions to put its oversight authority on ice have resulted in Net Neutrality being under constant threat. Now it appears the FCC realizes that it is best to simply follow the law Congress wrote and ignore the bogus claims of the biggest ISPs and their well-financed front groups.”

Here are just a few responses to Wheeler’s comments:

If you thought the fight for real Net Neutrality was intense before, get ready. The cable and phone companies and their well-funded front groups are about to turn their lobbying up to 11.

And this won’t just be happening at the FCC. Congress - both sides of the aisle - will be under enormous pressure to disrupt the FCC’s efforts. That’s why everyone - from the FCC commissioners to our senators and representatives - needs to hear from us.

It’s also why we’ve created a Net Neutrality New Year’s Resolution. Add your name and tell Congress and the FCC to protect the open Internet once and for all.

Source: Free Press - Save the Internet

Related: Net Neutrality - What YOU Need TO DO, and NOW!