Sen Nelson: Bipartisan Net Neutrality Bill Appears 'Impossible'

Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) said that while he continued to talk with Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) about a bipartisan network neutrality bill, the current reality is that "there are too many folks, from [FCC] chairman Ajit Pai to the stakeholders and lawmakers who are dug in on a particular side of this issue, so it is making compromise an impossible task."

That came in opening remarks in a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on broadband deployment. Ranking Member Nelson said consumers "deserve better" than chairman Pai's proposal (to roll back Title II classification for both wired and wireless broadband, eliminate the general conduct standard, remove interconnection from net neutrality oversight, and review the Open Internet rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization). "Consumers need to know that we have their back and they deserve certainty and finality when it comes to their essential right to a truly free and open Internet protected by clear, enforceable net neutrality rules."