‘Net neutrality’ to return under narrowly approved FCC rule, reversing Trump-era policy

(TNS) — The Federal Communications Commission has approved a rule which will reclassify broadband internet as a telecommunications service subject to federal oversight, reestablishing the so-called “ net neutrality” policy done away with under the Trump Administration.

In a 3–2 vote taken Thursday, the nation’s top communications regulators ruled that broadband internet is a communications tool of the same type as the service delivered by old-fashioned copper telephone lines and therefore subject to Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

“We know that broadband is a necessity and not a luxury, we know that it is an essential service. And when a consumer has a problem with it, they should be able to reach out to the nation’s expert on communications and get the help they need. They should be able to count on a national net neutrality policy that is grounded in the law and history of the United States,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said before the commission’s vote.

Following the vote, Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO of broadband trade group USTelecom, said the U.S. broadband industry is now at a crossroads.

“These 400-plus pages of relentless regulation are proof positive that old orthodoxies die hard – even when the cost is failing to achieve internet for all. Our nation has a stark choice: Do we move forward together and connect everyone or dial it all back? Just two and a half short years ago we stood together for universal connectivity. Title II does nothing to advance that shared objective.”