• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, February 4, 2015

Net neutrality advocates spent much of the day celebrating the news that the Federal Communications Commission is poised to declare broadband a utility service.

“The open Internet that has served as a true equalizer was strengthened today with the FCC’s proposed rules,” Nuala O’Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, said today in a statement. “This is an important day for everyone who enjoys the benefits of a fair and open Internet.”

O'Connor was responding to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's statement that he plans to propose prohibiting all broadband providers -- wireline and wireless -- from blocking or degrading traffic, and from creating paid fast lanes. Wheeler specifically said that he wants to reclassify broadband as a Title II telecommunications service, which will give the agency a legal hook for the new regulations.

Other net neutrality advocates, including some outspoken Democratic lawmakers, joined the Center for Democracy & Technology in praising Wheeler's move.

But opponents of new regulations -- including telecoms and cable companies -- already are gearing up to fight the FCC in court. Yesterday, AT&T outlined reasons why it believes that courts will strike down the new regulations.

Today, CTIA-The Wireless Association and Verizon registered their complaints.

CTIA president and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker (and former FCC commissioner) said in a statement that the agency lacks authority to regulate mobile broadband as a utility.

She added: “The mobile innovation and investment -- $120 billion since 2010 alone -- that American consumers rely on will be placed at risk by the FCC applying intrusive regulatory restrictions on mobile broadband for the first time.”

For its part, Verizon said in a statement that there's no reason for the FCC to issue net neutrality rules, given that Congress is considering passing legislation.

The company added that Wheeler's proposal “is counterproductive because heavy regulation of the Internet will create uncertainty and chill investment among the many players ... that now will need to consider FCC rules before launching new services.”

Verizon previously sued to vacate a set of weaker net neutrality regulations, which the FCC passed in 2010. Those rules banned all broadband providers -- wireline as well as wireless -- from blocking sites or competing applications, but only prohibited wireline providers from engaging in unreasonable discrimination.

Last year, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Verizon, and threw out the rules.  But Verizon's victory ended up backfiring, because the court's decision set the stage for the FCC to rethink its approach to broadband regulation.

After the ruling came out, many net neutrality supporters said that the FCC would have to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, if it wanted to craft neutrality rules that would be upheld in court.

Wheeler initially resisted doing so. But after a grassroots campaign by net neutrality advocates -- and a push from President Obama -- the FCC Chairman changed his mind.

Today, Wheeler not only said that he will propose declaring broadband a utility, but said he wants to enact “the strongest open internet protections” in the agency's history.

The FCC will vote on Wheeler's proposal later this month.