Divided FCC adopts Internet rules

A divided Federal Communications Commission banned Internet service providers like Comcast Corp from blocking traffic on their networks, provoking warnings the rules would be rejected in the courts and threats from Republican lawmakers to overturn them.

The 3-2 decision on Tuesday highlighted a huge divide between those who say the Internet should flourish without regulation and those who say the power of high-speed Internet providers to discriminate against competitors needs to be restrained.

But the FCC did allow Internet providers like Comcast, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc to "reasonably" manage their networks and to charge consumers based on levels of Internet usage.