The FCC has made its next move to ensure net neutrality in the US, and as one might expect, everyone is chiming in on it.

For those of you back in the Olde Country, the FCC wants to bring in net neutrality by reclassifying ISPs and putting tighter restrictions to force them to treat all traffic equally. The telcos have countered by tossing up the "government regulation" boogeyman that has been so popular for whipping people into a fervor as of late. Here are just a few of the comments we've received from various sectors of late.

User rights group Public Knowledge likes the plan. Here's what co-founder Gigi B. Sohn had to say:

"We are generally very pleased with the FCC's statement this morning. We have said for months that the right path for the Commission to take would be to examine all the possibilities for the best way to protect consumers and guarantee the expansion of broadband. The method the FCC is expected to propose should be on the table, and we are glad it is."

Business advocacy group Competitive Enterprise Institute was not so high on the plan. From vice president of policy Wayne Crews:

"Genachowski and his fellow Commissioners should be moving toward greater freedom of competition in the communications marketplace - especially among next-generation technologies that the future of broadband will bring. Instead, the FCC seems desperate for any excuse to expand its authority just as the economic rationale for the agency's overarching regulatory role grows weaker and weaker."

It's not the entire business world that opposes the plan, however. There are more than a few heavy hitters who are in favour of the FCC's actions. A list of companies including Google, eBay, Amazon.com and EchoStar have signed a letter in support of the plan:

"We applaud the middle ground approach that you have proposed. We share your belief that this course will create a legally sound, lighttouch regulatory framework that benefits consumers, technology companies, and broadband internet access providers."

07 May 2010