FCC Chairman warns: The GOP’s net neutrality bill could jeopardize broadband’s ‘vast future’

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said, "You know I'm a huge Lincoln buff, and he had a great expression: 'The struggle of today is not altogether for today; it's for the vast future also,'" implying that if the GOP restricts the FCC's legal powers, the future of the Internet could be harmed.

"Obviously the Congress is the Congress," he said. "They can write whatever rules they want to write, and we respect that ability of theirs. But I think we're at a fork in the road. The question is: Whose Internet is it? It is important to deal with the long-term future of what the relationship of the American people will be with their broadband network that is so essential," Chairman Wheeler added. "We're not dealing with the kinds of issues [Lincoln] was dealing with, or the magnitude of issues he was dealing with at that point in time -- but we are dealing with the vast future represented by broadband networks." Chairman Wheeler punctuated his next remarks for dramatic effect. "The. Most. Powerful. Network. In the history of mankind. Offering transformational opportunities we can't even imagine at this point in time. So the responsible question for an agency like us becomes: How are we going to make sure that in the broadband future, there are yardsticks in place to determine what is in the best interests of consumers, as opposed to what is in the best interest of gatekeepers?"