WASHINGTON — FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler plans to put forth an Open Internet Order that includes reclassification of broadband access as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act, according to news reports on Monday.

The commissioners will vote on the order at the agency’s Feb. 26 open meeting.

Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron made the following statement:

“The FCC appears to be moving toward achieving one of the most important victories for the public interest in its history. Title II is the best legal means to ensuring everyone's right to connect with everyone else online. This straightforward protection of two-way communications is central to real Net Neutrality and critical to the future of the Internet.

"We can’t judge what we have yet to see, since the details of the final FCC item aren’t yet available. From all indications, Chairman Wheeler seems intent on choosing the correct path to protecting the open Internet. If the FCC does that — and also keeps the final order free of loopholes and industry meddling — the chairman should be cheered by the millions who have mobilized to save the Internet.

"Internet service providers are guilty of spreading tons of misinformation about Title II, and they’ll spew more lies as the vote approaches. But the reality is that Title II of the Communications Act recognizes and protects the legal right of all individuals to access affordable, competitive and secure communications networks that enable them to transmit the information of their choosing between points of their choosing, without unjust discrimination.

"Wheeler is right to move this issue forward now. Millions have spoken, including the president. A bipartisan Congress updated Title II as the law for two-way broadband networks in the Telecom Act of 1996, and it remains a sound option for the FCC today. U.S. policy should always protect every individual's ability to access open communications pathways. The FCC's Title II decision would ensure that everyone has the ability to communicate freely online.

“Neither Congress nor the FCC should delay this issue any further. The FCC should move forward now with the real Net Neutrality protections we need."