Barack Obama has a clear message for the Federal Communications Commission: Keep the Internet free and save net neutrality — with no compromises.

Obama broke his silence on net neutrality on Monday, releasing a plan requesting that the FCC "implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality." His proposal essentially opposes fast lanes, any kind of blocking and throttling of Internet connections, and endorses a controversial solution dreaded by Internet providers and cheered by open Internet advocates.

I'm urging the @FCC to keep the internet open and free. Here's my plan to protect #NetNeutrality for everyone: http://t.co/3y3YLQD6MB –bo — The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 10, 2014

"We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas," Obama wrote in the plan.

Obama is setting out a series of bright-line rules and "simple, common-sense" steps that include reclassifying Internet broadband services as utilities, which would impose stricter regulations and oversight.

It is important to note, however, that the FCC is an independent body and it's not bound by Obama's proposal. In fact, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler responded to Obama's proposal simply saying the commission "welcomes" the comment and will take it into consideration, adding that the FCC has always kept all options, including reclassification, on the table.

Reclassification is something that open Internet advocates have long called for. It's also something that ISPs have vehemently opposed for years, claiming that it would kill competition. Analysts believe that if the FCC reclassifies ISPs as utilities, it will lead to another long, hard-fought court battle.

By reclassifying broadband providers as utilities and putting them under Title II of the 1934 Telecommunications act, the FCC could regain its authority to impose net neutrality rules on Internet providers.

In January of last year, a decision by a D.C. Court of Appeals struck down portions of the FCC Open Internet rules, effectively opening the way for paid prioritization and potentially allowing ISPs to treat Internet traffic differently. The court established that the FCC didn't have legal authority to impose net neutrality rules on ISPs. Under Obama's plan, the FCC would recover this authority.

Obama's core proposals, taken straight from his plan, are as follows:

No blocking. If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. That way, every player — not just those commercially affiliated with an ISP — gets a fair shot at your business. No throttling. Nor should ISPs be able to intentionally slow down some content or speed up others — through a process often called “throttling” — based on the type of service or your ISP’s preferences. Increased transparency. The connection between consumers and ISPs — the so-called “last mile” — is not the only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet. No paid prioritization. Simply put: No service should be stuck in a “slow lane” because it does not pay a fee. That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.

Along with the plan, Obama released a video that opens with a "buffering" message — a tongue-in-cheek joke to warn of a slower Internet.

Reactions are still trickling in, but Obama's plan already has a high-profile endorsement. Tim Wu, a tech policy academic who is often referred to as the "father of net neutrality" because he coined the term in 2003.

The White House's announced Net Neutrality policy is 100% on target http://t.co/eKIVB9RVoJ — Tim Wu (@superwuster) November 10, 2014

The telecom industry, on the other hand, has already came out to oppose Obama's plan.

"Reclassification under Title II, which for the first time would apply 1930s-era utility regulation to the Internet," Verizon wrote in a statement, "would be a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open Internet, competition and innovation."

The CTIA Wireless association, a large industry lobbying group, also penned a similar statement.

Imposing antiquated common carrier regulation, or Title II, on the vibrant mobile wireless ecosystem would be a gross overreaction that would ignore the bipartisan views of members of Congress and the FCC, would impose inappropriate regulation on a dynamic industry and would threaten mobile provider’s ability to invest and innovate, all to the detriment of consumers. CTIA strongly opposes such an approach.

Even Ted Cruz, an early hopeful for the Republican nomination for 2016, came out against it with a somewhat baffling tweet.

"Net Neutrality" is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government. — Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 10, 2014

BONUS: How Net Neutrality and the FCC Affects You

This post has been updated to add the FCC's response to Obama's proposal