Net neutrality supporters optimistic FCC will vote for Internet federal regulation

Supporters of “net neutrality” expressed growing confidence Tuesday that federal regulators will hand them a big win this week when they meet to vote on a proposal to set the rules of the road for traffic on the Internet.

But the big telecommunications companies remain fiercely opposed to the Federal Communications Commission’s draft proposal and will be airing their grievances over what they say in a regulatory grab for power at two House hearings Republicans have called Wednesday.

Net neutrality backers, given a strong vote of support from President Obama late last year, say the FCC plan will keep the Web open to even the smallest users and prevent the large telecommunications companies that build the Internet’s infrastructure from dictating who gets faster service or more favorable treatment.

“I’ve been outside the FCC with a megaphone more times than I can count,” said Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press, an Internet access advocacy group. “The FCC for once is standing for the public. The public will in turn stand with the FCC as long as they stand with the better decision.”

The heart of the complicated debate centers on who will write the guidelines for managing increasingly crowded Internet traffic, and by what standard the major Internet service providers such as Comcast and Verizon will be regulated by the FCC.

Net neutrality means that all data, from streaming a video on YouTube to buying groceries on Wal-Mart’s website, must be treated equally. In other words, the content must load at the same rate as other websites, no matter whether it’s a tiny startup firm or a major corporate user such as Netflix. The telecommunications providers say they have to be able to adjust pricing and access speed to market demands, to justify the major investments they have made to build the Web networks in the first place.

The FCC is expected to vote on the issue Thursday on a still-unreleased 332-page draft proposal from FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler. Sen. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat and a strong net neutrality advocate, said in a telephone conference with reporters Tuesday that Thursday should be declared “Internet Innovation Freedom Day.”

He said the FCC has received the message that keeping the Internet should remain open to all on equal terms and that grass-roots activism was key to the debate.

Net neutrality “is truly a 21st-century battle,” Mr. Markey said Tuesday. “You have called us to arms, you have sounded the alarm. You have taken to the Net and to the streets in order to advocate for this new set of rules being put on the books.”

Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who was also on the call, said he felt confident that the FCC’s decision would not be challenged by outside organizations. He said that would be an “awful and bizarre decision” for companies.

The FCC embraced a form of net neutrality in 2010, but the rule was knocked down after Verizon sued in federal court challenging the legal basis for the agency’s action. Mr. Wheeler’s revised proposal essentially would regulate the Internet as a public good.

Republican critics acknowledged that the FCC is not likely to heed their complaints.

“I hope Feb. 26 doesn’t go down in history as the time when the Internet moved from something that was driven by free market innovation to something that’s driven by bureaucratic decision-making,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, South Dakota Republican, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

While most everyone agrees that the Internet should be free, Republicans say the basic policy should be set by Congress, not by regulation through the FCC. The FCC move is a “very bad precedent and one that doesn’t have to happen,” Mr. Thune said.

Although the details are arcane, the topic has generated vast interest and passion across cyberspace.

The FCC received some 4 million comments from Americans on its website, with most strongly supporting net neutrality. More interest was generated after satirist John Oliver did a segment on the topic on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.”

On Wednesday, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, both dominated by Republicans, will hold hearings on the issue. Both panels promised a critical look at the FCC proposal.