(Update: 6 p.m.) Facing fierce congressional opposition, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has scheduled a vote on a comprehensive new net neutrality plan for Dec. 21.
The FCC chairman has for months been advocating measures to preserve an open internet, despite getting pushback from service providers who want the right to institute premium services for consumers.
By embracing net neutrality, Genachowski also sets the stage for future legal challenges. Last summer the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC, which can regulate broadcast TV and telephone landlines, doesn’t have the authority to regulate the internet.
In the wake of that setback, Genachowski had floated the possibility of skirting the court ruling by reclassifying the internet as a phone service. However, Wednesday's new "rules of the road" do not redefine the internet in that way.
What is now proposed represents a compromise measure of sorts. One that received only a measured endorsement from consumer groups who believe the regulations may not move fully forward, and the half-hearted support from corporate interests who still fear that stricter measures may be forthcoming.
In a statement he issued on Wednesday, Genachowski explained his reasons for pushing ahead:
"Consumers and innovators have a right to know basic information about broadband service, like how networks are being managed." He added, "The proposed framework would prohibit the blocking of lawful content, apps, services, and the connection of non-harmful devices to the network.
Genachowski said: "Consumers and innovators have a right to a level playing field. No central authority, public or private, should have the power to pick which ideas or companies win or lose on the Internet
The plan builds upon one by Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who in September backed down from it because of a lack of Republican support.
Waxman's compromise would have barred the FCC from regulating the internet as a phone service and set guidelines for online broadband. It would have established lighter restrictions for wireless.
Genachowski has the support of two Democratic FCC commissioners, but the two Republican commissioners issued statements on Wednesday opposing the proposal.
A vote this month would allow the FCC to set internet openness rules before Congress returns to session next year. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday that his proposal has "broad support." He also emphasized that the commission's rules do not prevent additional congressional action.
Those statements, coupled with a decision not to designate the Internet as a phone service, signals a broader concern that the FCC lacks the legal mandate to impose such sweeping reforms. They also appease phone companies and internet service providers that the FCC could eventually use internet rules to regulate other industries.
House Republicans have vowed to oppose any requirements forcing Internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.
There was also blowback from Republican members of the commission, who argued that responsibility for internet rules lies with congress.
