Appearing at an audience at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Cable Show today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler dismisses reports that net neutrality is being gutted and cautioned cable operators from celebrating just yet. In his firmest comments since a proposal that would be based on open internet rules has been circulating, Wheeler assured the crowd at the trade show that the commission intends to be stricter with its new rules governing the Internet, Techradar reported.
"Reports that we are gutting the open internet are incorrect. "I'm here to say to you, 'Wait a minute, put away the party hats.' The open internet rules will be tough, will be enforceable and, with the concurrence of my colleagues, will be in effect with dispatch."
Speaking at the Los Angeles event in defense about the long-overdue net neutrality rules, he insisted that the commission is prepared to undergo measures to ensure the protection of the open Internet, even from cable and wireless companies he once lobbied for in his previous occupation.
"I know in my bones how hard it is to start a company with innovative ideas. Now, as chairman of the FCC, I do not intend to allow innovation to be strangled by the manipulation of the most important network of our time: the Internet. If someone acts to divide the internet between haves and have nots, we will use every power in our disposal to stop it. Prioritizing some traffic by forcing the rest of the traffic onto a congested lane won't be permitted under any proposed open internet rule," Wheeler added.
Shutting down the possibility of broadband providers threatening the Internet by offering quality access to people who are willing to pay more, Wheeler said that the commission will be watching closely to industry players and has promised to punish perpetrators who violate open Internet rules.
On the other hand, Wheeler hinted that there might be some companies who will get special exemptions to the rules, although he vowed that the commission will be looking at it skeptically. Techradar said this means that Netflix and similar companies will still have to pay Internet service providers in the near future.
