FCC Chairman: I’d Rather Give In To Verizon’s Definition Of Net Neutrality Than Fight

[Commentary] With every word he writes, recently installed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler shows he has little interest or belief in network neutrality as most consumers understand it.

In another flimsy attempt at defending his position on “fast lanes” -- i.e., allowing Internet service providers to charge more to content companies seeking priority access to end-users – Chairman Wheeler contends that consumers should do what Verizon and other telecoms want because well, it could take a while to do it correctly.

Once again, Chairman Wheeler completely glosses over the fact that the only reason a federal appeals court gutted the previous neutrality rules was because a shortsighted FCC never thought to categorize Internet service providers as vital communications infrastructure.

As numerous supporters of a true net neutrality have repeatedly pointed out, reclassifying ISPs would likely mean the FCC could reinstate the old rules (and possibly more stringent ones) and survive a legal challenge. He once again points to this so-called “blueprint” that the appeals court laid out in its opinion as a way to “create Open Internet rules that would stick,” without regard to whether or not those rules result in an Internet that is open.