A number of people have begged the question -- is the House's vote against net neutrality included in the shutdown-averting budget compromise?
The answer is no, it is an entirely different matter and it's highly unlikely that it will go any further than the House. Once again the House spent valuable time, on the eve of a possible shutdown no less, on nonsensical legislation that is essentially dead on arrival.
(Reuters) - The House of Representatives voted on Friday to reject Internet "neutrality" rules that were adopted last year to keep big Internet service providers from blocking certain traffic
House Republicans, in a 240-179 vote, pushed through a measure disapproving the Federal Communications Commission's rules. Tech and telecom giants such as Verizon Communications Inc and Microsoft Corp could be affected. [...]
While a similar measure has been offered in the Senate and has 39 co-sponsors, the White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama's advisers would recommend that he veto any such resolution.
A repeal of the FCC's neutrality rules will never make it out of the senate, and President Obama would more than likely veto it even if it did.
While the FCC's new rules do not go far enough to ensure that mobile broadband in addition to wired broadband is adequately regulated, they are certainly better than having no rules, which is what the Republicans desire, and it's an important first step to achieving a legislated open internet.