FCC chief wants tougher open Internet rules

Roger Yu | USA TODAY

Less than a month before he presents new rules designed to ensure an open Internet, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is seeking to consolidate support for an option that would regulate Internet service providers more tightly, like public utilities.

Wheeler has staunchly backed the principle of the Internet being open and neutral for all types of legal content providers, and his reiteration of the position this week at the 2105 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas deflated the hopes of ISPs for a more hands-off approach.

"We're going to propose rules that say no throttling (of Internet traffic), no blocking, no paid prioritization," Wheeler told an audience at a CES session Wednesday.

A new set of net neutrality rules proposed by Wheeler will be circulated to other FCC commissioners on Feb. 5 and a vote will take place on Feb. 26, wrapping up a drawn-out process that has had cable companies, free-speech advocates, start-ups and consumers eagerly arguing their positions in comments to the FCC. Since the FCC began working on the new rules about a year ago, it has received more than 4 million public comments, a record for the agency.

In January 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned much of the FCC's rules on net neutrality, the principle that all legal content on the Internet should be treated equally by ISPs and not blocked or deliberately slowed down.

With the agency seeking to recast the rules, net neutrality advocates, President Obama among them, have called for an option that would regulate ISPs as a utility, just like electricity and water, and subject them to tighter rules about how and when they can adjust the speed and pricing of their networks.

Once set, the rules could have deep ramifications on the rapidly evolving video technology that is being explored by content providers, including TV networks that are starting to offer live programming over the Internet without relying on cable. The future of the much ballyhooed "Internet of Things" — in which everyday objects like refrigerators and thermostats are connected to home Wi-Fi — will be dictated by the premise of fast, unobstructed online connections.

There will be some exceptions under his rules, Wheeler said. But measuring ISPs' behavior will be guided by the legal standard that's currently applied to wireless carriers. "That yardstick is 'just and reasonable,'" Wheeler said. "There are instances where prioritization (given to some content providers) makes sense."

Cable companies and other ISPs have vigorously fought against the treat-them-like-utility option — often referred to as Title II, a provision of The Communications Act — and argued that it would stifle innovation and investment.

"Ironic to hear that 1930s (regulations) will likely be imposed on the Internet at an international event that is all about the future," tweeted Brian Dietz, spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

Wheeler's tipping of his hand in Las Vegas drew support from the other side. "Chairman Wheeler appears to have heard the demands of the millions of Internet users," said Craig Aaron, CEO of advocacy group Free Press. "The devil will be in the details. But it's refreshing to see the chairman firmly reject the industry's lies and scare tactics."