Net neutrality: U.S. politicos clash over Internet’s future

President Barack Obama voiced support Monday for “free and open Internet” rules to protect against putting online services that don’t pay extra fees into a “slow lane.” Obama’s detailed statement on the issue of “net neutrality,” a platform in his 2008 presidential campaign, was a rare intervention by the White House into the policy-setting of an independent agency. The issue of net neutrality has long been a subject of intense debate, and cable and wireless companies are expected to turn to Republican lawmaker allies for stricter oversight of the FCC.

'Net Neutrality' is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz via Twitter

Obama endorsed an effort to reclassify the Internet as a public utility to give regulators more authority to enforce “net neutrality,” the principle barring Internet service firms from playing favorites or opening up “fast lanes” for services that pay fees for better access. Obama’s argument explicitly rejects proposed rules that the FCC considered earlier this year to allow paid prioritization, a plan by which content providers can make deals with ISPs to get faster service to their websites. (Those rules are still under consideration and have not been finalized.) Cable and wireless companies issued strongly worded statements warning that the move to reclassify broadband as a utility-style telecom service threatened investments and innovation.

Applying last century’s public utility regulation to the dynamic mobile broadband ecosystem puts at risk the investment and innovation which characterizes America’s world-leading $196 billion wireless industry.

Meredith Attwell Baker, CEO of Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association

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