• Seattle Times et al., Thursday, May 6, 2010 3:07 PM

Stoking the flames of the "net neutrality" wars, the FCC is about to propose regulating broadband lines under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks.

That's "despite a recent court ruling that the commission had limited powers to do so," writes The Seattle Times. "The FCC has limited authority over information services but it has vast powers to regulate certain utilities ... It contends a combination of those powers can be applied to broadband service."

"The decision, by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, is likely to trigger a vigorous lobbying battle, arraying big phone and cable companies and their allies on Capitol Hill against Silicon Valley giants and consumer advocates," reports The Wall Street Journal.

Notes USA Today: "Regulators also want to ensure they have jurisdiction to impose so-called 'network neutrality' rules requiring phone and cable companies to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their broadband networks."

Under the headline, "Net Neutrality Fans Rejoice: The FCC Will Reclassify Broadband," GigaOm explains: "The entire wonky issue was brought to head at the beginning of April with an appeals court decision that the FCC had overstepped its authority when it censured Comcast for blocking P2P files."

According to The Next Web: "This news comes as a victory for internet customers and internet companies, both of which have been advocates of net neutrality ... Consumers want to use their connections exactly as they see fit, and internet companies want to make sure that they get the same crack at the ball as anyone else."

No doubt, cable companies like Comcast would almost certainly fight any regulatory efforts by the FCC -- claiming it would discourage investment in the industry -- BS analyst John Hodulik tells The Journal.

That claim, as eWeek notes, has been disputed in a report by the media watchdog Free Press. "You could have regulators involved in every facet of providing Internet over time," Hodulik told the paper. "How wholesale and prices are set, how networks are interconnected and requirements that they lease out portions of their network."

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