We reported recently that the FCC is likely to vote on an official proposal for net neutrality next month, and today an announcement has come in from the FCC chairman himself, revealing when the vote is going to take place. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has confirmed that the official proposal for net neutrality will be circulated to commissioners on February 5th before the vote takes place on February 26th.
This announcement was made by Wheeler during a public interview with CEA President Gary Shapiro at the Consumer Electronics Show 2015 in Las Vegas.
Wheeler didn’t reveal much about what the proposal is going to contain, his previous proposal received significant criticism, and his views on net neutrality seem to have changed since then. During his interview he praised Title II which would allow for re-regulation of internet lines and the classification of broadband as a utility.
President Obama has already thrown his weight behind Title II reclassification. He urged the FCC back in November to consider this and while Wheeler didn’t endorse it at that time, now its believed that his proposal could bring something along the same lines.
The debate on net neutrality has centered around ISPs being given the free-hand to prioritize traffic and see money from services that tend to put a lot of burden on the network, no wonder companies like Netflix spoke out against it, as did a large portion of the civil society.
FCC’s vote on February 26th will certainly be closely watched, people arguing for either side are likely to have their fingers crossed.
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