House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is on the side of everybody except big telecom, and has
added her voice [pdf] to the millions who have called on the Federal Communications Commission to protect net neutrality. In a letter to the FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, Pelosi makes the case for reclassifying broadband as a utility, like telephones.
I oppose special Internet fast lanes, only open to those firms large enough to pay big money or fraught enough to give up big stakes in their company. Fortunately, the court's decision gave the Commission a clear path forward to prohibit discrimination and paid prioritization. The law allows the Commission to protect consumers and innovators with strong, but tailored rules defending the open Internet from a wide variety of threats.
I believe the FCC should follow the court's guidance and reclassify broadband as a Telecommunications Service under Title II of the Communications Act. […]
Over a million Americans directly contacted your agency during the initial round of comments, and millions more signed petitions. In fact, many Americans filed comments with your agency over the broadband connection on their mobile phone or tablet. This proves how important it is for the FCC to ensure all Americans are able to enjoy the same robust net neutrality protections on wireless that they should enjoy on a wired connection.
Having congressional leadership signed onto the effort is key, which is why the activist coalition
pushed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid into taking a stance on keeping open-internet rules. The more pressure we can bring to bear, the better. Pelosi's letter is a strong argument for reclassification.
Remember, the last day to make comments to the FCC is September 15, so if you haven't already done it, please, take a moment to sign and send a personal comment to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler urging him to do the right thing.
You can also join websites around the world (including the biggest porn sites!) in the Internet Slow Down, by putting a widget on your website which illustrates what would happen if Big Telecom carves the internet into fast and slow lanes. This doesn't actually slow your site down, but provides a graphic that shows how long it would take your page to load if you were on the slow lane.