Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Tom Wheeler said on Feb. 4 that he backed Obama’s plan to reclassify the Internet as a public utility under the government agency’s Title II authority.
FCC commissioner Ajit Pai said in a press release on Feb. 6 that the plan “marks a monumental shift toward government control of the Internet.” Even a liberal think tank predicted that these regulations could result in a new $156 fee for American households."The liberal Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) predicted that households could pay an additional $156 in fees to federal, state, and local governments if regulators reclassified the internet as a public utility in a report released December, 2014. Revenue from these fees would total $15 billion per year, according to PPI."
"Reclassifying the internet as a public utility to achieve net neutrality might also negatively impact broadband Internet service providers (ISPs). This move “could put as many as 174,000 broadband related jobs at risk by the end of this decade,” according to the conservative think-tank American Action Forum.
The regulation could reduce investments in ISPs by $45.4 billion by 2019, according to a report by the economic consulting firm Sonecon. The report was co-authored by Sonecon chairman Dr. Robert J. Shapiro, who said he was an economic advisor to every Democratic candidate since President Bill Clinton, including Obama."http://www.mrc.org/articles/nets-barely-cover-obamas-internet-regulations
