The chair of the Federal Communications Commission has unveiled what he calls “the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the [agency].” FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has backed the regulation of Internet service like a public utility to uphold net neutrality, the principle of a free and open Internet. The plan will let the agency prevent Internet service providers like Comcast from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for Internet service. It would also extend such protections to Internet service on cellphones and tablets. Wheeler discussed the plan on PBS NewsHour.

Tom Wheeler: “What we’re doing is we’re taking the legal construct that once was used for phone companies and paring it back to modernize it so it specifically deals with this issue. So it’s not really utility regulation, but it is regulation to make sure that there is somebody watching out for the consumer, that, like you said, there’s no paid prioritization, there’s no blocking, there’s no throttling. And, most important, there will be ongoing rules, in perpetuity, so that there will be a yardstick to measure what’s fair for consumers.”

Tom Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cellphone and cable industries, was not initially expected to take a strong stand on net neutrality. His proposal comes after the FCC received a record-setting number of comments — nearly four million, almost all in support of strong protections. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts hailed the proposal.

Sen. Ed Markey: “Today is a day where consumers and innovators, entrepreneurs, anyone who counts on the Internet to connect to the world, is going to now be protected in the 21st century. Reclassifying broadband under Title II is a major victory for our economy, for our consumers and for free expression of ideas.”

The FCC will vote on Wheeler’s proposal on February 26.