Also this week, Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, and 28 other GOP senators sent a letter to Genachowski urging the FCC to abandon the net neutrality rules.

"The Internet has flourished over the last 20 years because of, not despite, a lack of government control and involvement," the letter said. "If the commission does adopt your plan to impose new regulations on the Internet, the cost of that action will be measured in investments forgone, innovations stifled, and most importantly, jobs lost. With America's economy in such a fragile state, the last thing the government needs to do is burden the private sector with more ill-advised regulatory red tape."

Genachowski first proposed that the FCC reclassify broadband as a regulated, common-carrier service in order to get around the limits of the court order, but his latest proposal would create net neutrality rules without reclassification. Several longtime advocates for net neutrality rules have criticized that proposal, saying it doesn't provide strong protections for mobile broadband users and it contains several loopholes for broadband providers.

The IDG News Service