House Republicans on Wednesday penned a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, which urged him to back off any sort of net neutrality regulation.

"We are writing to respectfully urge you to halt your consideration of any plan to impose antiquated regulation on the Internet, and to warn that implementation of such a plan will needlessly inhibit the creation of American private sector jobs, limit economic freedom and innovation, and threaten to derail one of our economy's most vibrant sectors," reads the letter, which was signed by House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

The lawmakers said net neutrality rules would be "counterproductive," as they "would only serve to deter investment and stifle one of the brightest spots in our economy."

An unregulated approach to broadband deployment, they argued, has resulted in the private sector deploying broadband to 95 percent of U.S. households. According to a 2012 FCC report, approximately 19 million Americans, or 6 percent of the U.S. population, do not have access to acceptable broadband Internet service.

The GOP's letter comes one day before the FCC is set to consider the chairman's net neutrality plan at a Thursday morning open meeting. That plan comes after rules that were put in place in 2010 were struck down by a court that found the FCC did not have the authority to craft such rules. As a result, the FCC's new approach keeps much of its old rules in place, but allows for broadband providers to ink paid prioritization deals that were "commercially reasonable."

That prompted a swift backlash from Internet activists and Web giants who argued that paid prioritization is exactly what net neutrality is trying to prevent. Ultimately, Wheeler circulated a revised draft to his fellow commissioners, which spelled out that the FCC would not allow for broadband deals that harmed the open Internet.

But the FCC's plan also asks for public comment on other options. One such option is reclassifying broadband as a telecom service rather than an information service, which would give the FCC a stronger legal standing to regulate ISPs and net neutrality.

The GOP came out strongly against this plan - also known as Title II for its placement in the Communications Act.

"Efforts to regulate the Internet as a utility under Title II are threatening to set back this progress and impose on broadband rules designed for the old-fashioned, monopoly-era phone service," the lawmakers wrote. "Doing so would contradict a decade of FCC decisions under Democratic and Republican administrations and limit the freedom to innovate and create that has characterized the Internet since its inception."

ISPs have also slammed that idea. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents the nation's top ISPs, submitted comments to the FCC today that called Title II efforts "wholly unnecessary," reiterating what it said in a recent blog post.

US Telecom, which also represents top ISPs, said Title II reclassification would be the "wrong approach."

"For more than a decade, broadband Internet access has been regulated as an information service, and during this period broadband providers have invested more than $670 billion," the group said.

Opting for Title II is largely considered a last resort at this point. After all, the road to classifying Internet as an information service went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2005 via the Brand X case. So reversing that decision would probably prompt a lengthy legal and political battle.

Ideally - for supporters, anyway - this is an issue that Congress would address by crafting a law that imposes net neutrality rules. But the issue is split down party lines, meaning it's very unlikely that Democrats and Republicans would be able to come together on a bill that would make its way to President Obama's desk. As the GOP letter indicates, Republicans would prefer that the FCC and everyone else just let the market handle it, while Democrats like Sen. Al Franken don't think the FCC is going far enough.

The FCC's Thursday meeting kicks off at 10:30 a.m. ET; it will be webcast on the agency's website. Until then, see Net Neutrality: What's Really Happening?

Further Reading

Networking Reviews