Major telecom companies were "stunned" by President Obama's proposal to regulate the Internet like it's a utility, The Guardian's Dominic Rushe reports. Regulating the Internet as a utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act has been favored by net neutrality advocates when the Federal Communications Commission's prior strategy to ensure Internet service providers don't play favorites was struck down in court. National Cable and Telecommunications Association Michael Powell said, “'We are stunned the president would abandon the longstanding, bipartisan policy of lightly regulating the internet and [call] for extreme Title II regulation,'” The Guardian further reports.
The FCC is considering a hybrid Title II regime in which ISPs would be regulated as utilities but they could charge more money to some for fast-lane access, Electronista reports.
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