Big telecommunications companies and many Republicans in Congress have criticized President Obama’s proposal for strong rules to prevent the creation of fast and slow lanes on the Internet. They claim this is heavy-handed government regulation. But in fact, it is correcting an old mistake.

Mr. Obama says the Federal Communications Commission should reclassify broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service, rather than the lightly regulated information service it is now. This would give the commission the authority to prevent broadband providers from slowing the delivery of some web content to favor content from companies that have paid a fee for faster delivery.

The F.C.C., an independent agency, is not obligated to do what Mr. Obama asks. But the checkered regulatory history shows the soundness of Mr. Obama’s idea.

The agency decided to classify broadband as an information service in 2002, after debates over how to expand the availability of affordable Internet service. One option was to require “open access,” which would have forced cable companies to lease their networks to competing Internet service providers like AOL and EarthLink. That would have increased competition and lowered prices, but it could have been done only if the commission had classified broadband as a telecommunications service, over which the agency has more control.