In their 14-page Monday letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), AT&T and Verizon - along with trade groups CTIA and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association - have said that any “extremist” move of arduous regulations by the agency might dissuade them from investing further in the fast-moving broadband industry.

The letter by the bigwig Internet service providers (ISPs) comes at a time when the FCC is awaiting a pivotal decision, related to the Comcast lawsuit, from a federal appeals court.

If the FCC loses the case, it might have to elucidate its authority over ISPs via a reclassification of Internet services – the supporters of which have urged the agency to put ISPs under the ‘Title II’ common carrier services, which transport people or goods under regulatory supervision.

However, most broadband carriers argue that placing their services under ‘Title II’ might be a ‘too restrictive’ move.

Meanwhile, with the FCC chairman Julius Genachowski vehemently promoting faster and more extensive pervasive broadband infrastructure for economic growth and democracy reasons, the FCC will Tuesday release the findings of its wide-ranging survey which found that the nearly one-third of the US population lacks high-speed Internet access at home – with the main barrier to entry being the broadband prices.

The findings of the survey will be taken up by the agency alongside its next-month submission of a national broadband plan to Congress.