FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday finally spelled out how it will preserve the open Internet, publicly releasing a 400-page PDF that details its new, stricter regulations for broadband services.

The agency’s commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the order last month but did not release the order itself. Instead, [Obama nominated] Chairman Tom Wheeler and the agency served up select details through a fact sheet, press conferences and an appearance earlier this month at the Mobile World Conference trade show in Barcelona.

Thursday marks the first chance for the public to get a full look at the order, which reclassifies broadband as a so-called Title II telecommunications service under the 1934 Communications Act. That reclassification allows the FCC to regulate providers using rules originally established for the old telephone network. This legal definition establishes broadband as a “common carrier,” a centuries-old concept that means carriers’ networks must be open to everyone. It also gives the FCC unprecedented authority over the industry.

Despite its length, the order is a must read for anyone interested in the issue, known among regulators and the industry as Net neutrality.

“Until everybody reads the fine print and understands it, you won’t really be able comment in detail,” Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T’s business and mobility division, said in an interview last week. “I plan to read [the regulations] cover to cover.”

While consumer advocates and online businesses such as video-streaming service Netflix cheered the FCC’s stricter regulations, broadband providers such as Verizon and Comcast will likely sue the FCC to block the order. Their concern is that the Title II reclassification gives the FCC authority to set rates and impose tariffs that could translate into higher fees to consumers, stifle innovation and discourage companies from building new broadband networks and improving existing ones. Wheeler dismissed these concerns.

http://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-goes-public-with-net-neutrality-rules-for-governing-internet/