FCC Votes to Classify Internet as “Utility”

In a 3-2 vote along political party lines (Dem-Rep), the Federal Communications Commission has decided that the Internet is now a “utility” very much like electricity, gas, and water services.

Technically, the vote re-classifies the internet as a Title II telecommunications service, and this decision has been the subject of hot debate for quite a while now. Supporters believe it will prevent large corporations from monopolizing control over the flow of online content. Critics see this as a gross overreach of regulatory power.

The sweeping changes grant the FCC authority to impose rules over Internet service, even though chairman Tom Wheeler says, “This is no more a plan to regulate the internet than the first amendment is a plan to regulate free speech. They both stand for the same concept: openness, expression, and an absence of gatekeepers telling people what they can do, where they can go and what they can think.”

Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, who voted against the rules change, calls the vote a “monumental and unlawful power grab.” Commissioner Ajit Pai says the action “marks a monumental shift toward government control of the Internet” and predicted it would lead to higher prices for Internet service, slower speeds, less innovations and less choice.

Originally, the Internet was considered an information service governed by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Telecom and cable companies opposed to the decision have predicted that the new rules will burden the industry with unnecessary regulation, which will add to the cost of providing Internet services to consumers.

The 317-page order, entitled Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet, are set to go into effect 60 days after they’re printed in the Federal Register.