"An open Internet fuels a competitive and efficient marketplace, where consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail. This allows businesses of all sizes, from the smallest startup to larger corporations, to compete, yielding maximum economic growth and opportunity," they wrote. Lobbying on the topic reached a fevered pitch last week with Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison signaling she might pursue legislation to block new rules if Genachowski doesn't modify his proposal to reflect her concerns.

Also last week, 18 GOP senators -- including John McCain of Arizona, a former chairman of the Commerce Committee -- insisted in a separate document that the FCC's proposed revisions "will be counterproductive and risk harming the great advancements in broadband speed and deployment that we have witnessed." Yet another letter from 70 House Democrats urged Genachowski to "carefully consider the full range of potential consequences that government action may have on network investment."