Related: Divided FCC Votes To Reclassify ISPs Under Title II
Related: Hill Hails, Pans Title II
Cable's Internet service providers were quick to blast the Federal Communications Commission over its 3-2 party-line vote to reclassify Internet access as a telecom service subject to some Title II regulation.
“Today, the FCC took one of the most regulatory steps in its history," said Michael Powell, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, who was FCC chairman in 2002 when the commission classified ISPs as an information service not subject to Title II common-carrier regs.
"[The FCC] began regulating the Internet, abruptly abandoning a bipartisan national commitment to limited government involvement that has reigned for decades," Powell said, adding that it was time for Congress to step in.
