President Calls For Expanding Broadband Internet

[lawman]

Many Americans are “pretty much at the whim of whatever Internet provider is around,” Mr. Obama said. “Meanwhile, you’re wondering why your rates keep on getting jacked up when the service doesn’t seem to improve.

[washingtontimes.com...]

Maybe he shoulda led with that.

[weeks]

WSJ reported today Republicans have a draft bill that would prevent broadband providers from "blocking, slowing down or accepting money from content providers to speed up delivery of their websites to consumers, BUT...
(yeah, you knew there was a "but" coming) prevent the FCC from using utility-like regulations to do so."

The FCC is believed to be seriously considering using utility-like rules—the common carrier portion of communications law—to regulate the broadband industry, as President Barack Obama has urged. The legislation is the Republicans’ response to that possibility.

National Cable and Telecommunications Association says they all for this. I suspect they drafted the bill themselves.

“Our opposition to Title II does not stem from some nefarious desire to exercise control over consumers’ Internet habits, but rather is spurred by our knowledge of the very real harms that will follow if broadband services are subject to Title II’s outdated regulations,” National Cable and Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell said.