WASHINGTON: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has scheduled a second hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules. A vote on a joint resolution to dismantle the rules had been scheduled by Republicans for yesterday, but Democrats called for a hearing.

Network neutrality rules are intended to prohibit content discrimination by Internet Service Providers. The issue gained attention on Capitol Hill years ago when Comcast was found to be throttling bitrates on peer-to-peer traffic. Democrats support the concept; Republicans consider it to be governmental interference with network management.

Rep. Greg Walden, (R-Ore.), chairman of the subcommittee, introduced the joint resolution to nullify the FCC’s network neutrality rules and scheduled the vote. Democrats Henry Waxman and Anna Eshoo of California responded by calling for a hearing, which is now scheduled for March 9 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
-- Deborah D. McAdams