WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Communication voted Thursday to define Internet transmissions as a telecommunications industry, pulling broadband into its regulatory fold.
The voted 3-2 in favor of the proposal, setting up a period for public reaction before it is formally accepted.
If it is accepted, broadband would be defined within the agency on the same level as telephone services, permitting the FCC to pass tighter restrictions on its use, The New York Times reported.
A New York Law School review of the FCC's so-called net neutrality proposals released Thursday said the National Broadband Plan is flawed.
"The innovative vibrancy evident throughout the broadband ecosystem is in danger of being undermined by FCC proposals," said the authors of the study, Charles Davidson and Bret Swanson of the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute.
The study said there is an expectation that broadband services will commit $30 billion a year in capital expenditures through 2015 and that the broadband services alone supports 509,000 jobs.
However, the FCC's network neutrality proposals could "have a negative impact on U.S. gross domestic product on the order of approximately $62 billion per year," the study said.
