Apparently 1.1 million comments aren't enough when it comes to public feedback on Internet neutrality. At least according to the Federal Communications Commission.
The federal agency is once again extending public comment on proposed net neutrality policy through September 15.
The initial call for comment, issued in March and which ended in late July, drew fast and furious insight, though as some FCC officials noted, there was a portion of comment that had nothing to with the regulatory issue. The feedback actually crashed the FCC servers and the agency extended the initial deadline to allow consumers more time given the technical glitch.
The only other FCC comment call that hit as high was related to complaints over a wardrobe malfunction during a televised Super Bowl.
At issue is a proposal that would let cable companies charge content providers more money in exchange for faster service. The proposal would allow cable companies to charge content providers extra fees to deliver faster service and how Internet services providers can manage network web traffic.
"To ensure that members of the public have as much time as was initially anticipated to reply to initial comments in these proceedings, the Bureau today is extending the reply comment deadline by three business days," the FCC said on Friday, delaying the final deadline for comments to September 15.
According to one report, a great deal of the current comments are favorable to net neutrality.
The news comes on the heels of the Writers Guild of America asking the FCC to hold public hearings before making any changes to the Open Internet Order.
"The time has now come for the commission to hold public hearings on the Open Internet rulemaking around the country," wrote Michael Winship, guild president in a letter to the FCC. " It is imperative that the FCC members travel beyond Washington, D.C., to hear for themselves the voices of the American people who insist upon an Internet kept available on an equal and democratic basis for all," states the letter.
As Tech Times has reported Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. also called on the FCC to hold the roundtable discussions.
