Net Neutrality Update

Kate Knibbs at Gizmodo:

Things are looking good for net neutrality. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on whether to treat the internet more like a public utility. This vote comes after a lengthy political battle over the best course of action, but it looks like that fight is winding down. The New York Times reports that key GOP opponents have accepted near-certain defeat:

On Tuesday, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, all but surrendered on efforts to overturn the coming ruling, conceding Democrats are lining up with President Obama in favor of the F.C.C.

Obama came out in favor of a plan for net neutrality that would reclassify the internet as a public utility late last year, following a passionate public outcry against the FCC's old proposed rules for net neutrality, which could've been used to develop slow and fast lanes of service depending on which companies shelled out for premium fees, in essence creating a tiered internet.

...In January, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler unveiled a revamped plan for net neutrality rules that closely mirrored the president's, kicking of another round of political sniping. But as the vote date looms, it looks likely that the new rules will get voted in.

Fingers crossed. This has been a long fight, and at times it looked like tiered internet service was perilously close, and I'm not celebrating just yet, but I feel really hopeful.