The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to restore net neutrality rules later this month that will give the government agency the ability to regulate broadband services as a public utility, a move that most in the broadband industry oppose.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel placed a vote on the net neutrality proposal on the government agency’s April Open Meeting, which is set for April 25. The proposal calls for the reintroduction of FCC oversight of broadband services and the ability to treat those services as an “essential resource deserving of FCC oversight under Title II authority.”

“The pandemic proved once and for all that broadband is essential,” Rosenworcel wrote this week. “After the prior administration abdicated authority over broadband services, the FCC has been handcuffed from acting to fully secure broadband networks, protect consumer data and ensure the internet remains fast, open and fair. A return to the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular and court-approved standard of net neutrality will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong consumer advocate of an open internet.”

The FCC is expected to pass the latest proposal along party lines, with Democrats on the commission outnumbering Republicans 3-2.

Rosenworcel’s move has gained support from Biden administration and other government agencies.

“Fair and open access to the internet underpins virtually every aspect of American life,” Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). “The Biden administration supports the FCC’s efforts to put rules in place that preserve an open Internet, promote national security and protect consumers.”

It also has support from many public interest groups.

“The FCC’s move to restore Title II classification for broadband is a necessary step in protecting both the open internet and consumers,” John Bergmayer, legal director at Public Knowledge, wrote in a statement. “It ensures that broadband providers cannot abuse their gatekeeper power over a service that has become essential to every aspect of modern life. Broadband is now a necessity for work, education, entertainment, health care, social connection and civic engagement. Internet service providers have the ability and incentive to exploit their control over this vital communications service and only Title II authority gives the FCC the legal tools it needs to ensure that the public interest comes first.”

Title II authority dates back to the original Communications Act of 1934 that provided the FCC with authority to regulate telephone, telegraph and radio communications. That provision was updated in 2015 to include broadband services, with the angle to prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking websites or imposing limits on users.

The FCC reversed that decision two years later under the Trump administration when Republicans had a 3-2 majority at the FCC.

However, most broadband service providers and industry groups oppose the move, noting it’s illegal and will hamper further investments.

“In the absence of any harm, the FCC is barreling ahead with a backward-looking, unnecessary proposal,” NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell wrote in a statement. “Its repeated legal flip-flopping has become a tiresome political ritual unmoored from congressional direction that radically upends what should be a stable regulatory environment. But this time, reimposing heavy-handed regulation will not just hobble network investment and innovation, it will also seriously jeopardize our nation’s collective efforts to build and sustain reliable broadband in rural and unserved communities. We urge the FCC to reverse course to avoid years of litigation and uncertainty.”

Analyst reports have provided a mixed reading on those industry efforts.

A recent report from Parks Associates found 66% of consumers that received broadband services from a fixed-wireless access (FWA) provider considered what they paid for that service to be good or fair. That same report found 51% of fiber broadband customers and 35% of cable broadband customers also found pricing to be good or fair.

A report from network speed test monitoring firm Ookla found broadband download speeds averaged around 250 Mb/s, which was more than double the recently increased 100 Mb/s minimum standard implemented by the FCC. Those results were far below the 1 GB/s speed the FCC wants to implement.

The FCC has also been pressing for greater urgency in bridging the broadband digital divide.

The government agency recently noted that fixed-broadband services meeting its 100 Mb/s download and 25 Mb/s upload speed goals were not available to 7% of the U.S. population. That coverage gap was significantly higher for rural and Tribal lands, with approximately 28% of people living in rural areas and 23% of people living on Tribal lands not having access to those broadband speeds.

The government is attempting to bridge this gap through the NTIA’s $43 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was itself part of the federal government’s $65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The BEAD funds are targeted at expanding broadband networks to unserved and underserved areas and to provide ongoing financial support to increase access.