Telecommunications regulators postponed their December meeting, a move that could give them more time to consider whether they will take on controversial Web traffic rules.
The Federal Communications Commission was scheduled to meet December 15, but the agency on Tuesday said it would postpone the meeting to December 21. The delay gives the FCC an extra week to prepare its agenda, typically released three weeks prior to the meeting date.
Industry insiders had said the meeting was likely to be postponed after reports that the FCC planned to take up Net neutrality — also known as open Internet principles — at its December meeting spurred Republican opposition.
FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard declined to comment on whether the agency would address Net neutrality at the meeting.
Net neutrality rules could end the debate over whether high-speed Internet providers should be allowed to block or slow information or charge websites for a “fast lane” to reach users more quickly.
“The signals out there seem to be they are in fact contemplating a vote in December,” said Jeffrey Silva, a telecommunications policy analyst with Medley Global Advisors.
“The situation’s very fluid at the present time, and I think they’re carefully considering the message they’ve received from Capitol Hill and trying to figure out their next step,” Silva said of the FCC.
Republicans have opposed Web traffic rules, saying regulations could force companies to cut investment budgets and jobs to preserve profits.
Nineteen House Republicans last week signed a letter that said any FCC action on Net neutrality would be a mistake.
The FCC heard opposing views from phone, cable and Internet companies over the summer in its efforts to develop a framework for how Internet traffic should be managed, but talks crumbled, particularly over the treatment of wireless broadband.
At stake is how quickly handheld devices, like Research in Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry and Apple Inc’s iPhone, can receive and download videos and other content.
Wireless carriers are lobbying to be allowed to prioritize Internet traffic on congested wireless networks and have said they already do so to allow handsets to make and receive phone calls.
But Net neutrality proponents and public interest groups fear that creating a two-tiered Internet, where content providers able to pay more get faster speeds to reach their users more quickly, would harm consumers.
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