FCC's Wheeler Defends Net Neutrality Plan

Tom Wheeler

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler strode into a congressional hearing on Tuesday, greeted the committee’s members — and then occupied the lone seat opposite a host of lawmakers who quickly piled on the criticism, reports Politico.

Both Democrats and Republicans expressed deep misgivings with Wheeler’s controversial approach in the increasingly political debate over net neutrality, the idea that Internet providers should treat all web traffic equally. Almost a week after the FCC voted on party lines to advance Wheeler’s proposal, lawmakers summoned him to the Capitol and politely but pointedly aired their frustrations — the first of many such exchanges still to come over the future of the open Internet.

Even among members of Wheeler’s own party, there are many who fear the FCC chairman’s plan could allow AT&T, Verizon or others to strike deals with companies like Netflix for faster delivery of their content — though Wheeler argued at the hearing to the contrary. And Republicans, who oppose any net neutrality regulation, questioned Wheeler for weighing new rules at all.

For his part, the chairman labored to assuage skeptical lawmakers, detailing repeatedly how his proposal would not break the Internet or hobble its many users.

He stated: “I’ve consistently said, there is only one Internet. There is not a fast or slow Internet.”

It could be the first of many such entanglements for Wheeler, who appeared at an oversight hearing convened by Chairman Greg Walden’s (R-Ore.) telecom panel. The FCC is many months away from final net neutrality rules, after voting 3-2 to open comments on the proceeding.

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