On Thursday, the US Federal Commission made its first move to propose a change which would place limited regulation on the broadband service being provided to people.

The notice of inquiry, NOI, was voted 3-2, with the two negative votes coming in from the Republican side. The purpose of the NOI is to collect the opinion of the public for the proposal that is being forwarded by Julius Genachowski, the chairman of FCC. The proposal puts forth a request to re-categorize the broadband as common carrier services.

This proposal was put forward by Genachowski after the completion of a case in the beginning of this year that places doubt on the authority of the agency over the providers offering broadband services. As per the proposal, based on the 1996 Title II of the Telecommunications Act, FCC would not involve itself in any common carrier related regulations.

If this reclassification does not take place, it would not be possible for the FCC to protect the broadband privacy for customers, create neutrality rules for networks and redirect subsidies on telephone. Genochowski went on to say that his objective in putting forth this proposal is to have a light and workable framework for people accessing broadband and also restoring status quo. He said that the primary focus was on spurring innovation, global competitiveness and investment by achieving the critical broadband goals set as a nation.

The first step towards creating a new policy for FCC is the notice of inquiry he said. Under this, public comment will be sought by the FCC in order to reclassify broadband. Genachowski mentioned that he had no set deadline in mind for this process to be completed.  He also said that though there are benefits and drawbacks of this proposal, it is recommended to be open minded about this proposal.