By GottaLaff
Consumer groups are happy. In fact, they "hailed" the decision. This is a big deal:
In a move that will stoke a battle over the future of the Internet, the federal government plans to propose regulating broadband lines under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks.The decision, by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, is likely to trigger a vigorous lobbying battle, arraying big phone and cable companies and their allies on Capitol Hill against Silicon Valley giants and consumer advocates.
Breaking a deadlock within his agency, Mr. Genachowski is expected Thursday to outline his plan for regulating broadband lines. He wants to adopt "net neutrality" rules that require Internet providers like Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. to treat all traffic equally, and not to slow or block access to websites.
[...] The court ruled the FCC had overstepped when it cited Comcast in 2008 for slowing some customers' Internet traffic. [...]
At stake is how far the FCC can go to dictate the way Internet providers manage traffic on their multibillion-dollar networks. For the past decade or so, the FCC has maintained a mostly hands-off approach to Internet regulation.
Again, forgive my lack of commentary today. (I've been consumed with tech issues.) But here's a short one: Yay!
H/t: ZenShadow
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