Diametrically Opposed FCC Commissioners Both Agree That Tom Wheeler Should Pull Back On Net Neutrality Rule Making

So last night we wrote about over 100 internet companies asking Tom Wheeler, to rethink his plans for his open internet "net neutrality" rule making -- warning that proposed rules that harm an open internet would be a very bad thing. In that post, we mentioned that FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel had asked Tom Wheeler to delay his plan to push forward with the rulemaking, but that Wheeler intended to move forward anyway. This morning, the pile-on against Wheeler continued, starting with a fantastic letter from over 50 venture capitalists who invest in the internet space, warning what bad rules will do to innovation and the economy (a letter they put together in less than a day).

And then another FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai, also asked Wheeler to hold off and not offer up his open internet rules at the meeting next week. It would be big in general to see two FCC commissioners directly asking the FCC chair to hold off, but it's especially noteworthy that it's Pai and Rosenworcel doing this -- as they tend to come at things from the opposite end of the spectrum (FCC-ish pun not intended). Pai is a Republican commissioner and Rosenworcel is a Democratic one -- and they generally don't agree on much, policy wise. In fact, it's unlikely they agree on why these rules should be stalled -- but at least they both realize that rushing forward with half-baked rules are a serious problem...