Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, warned the FCC not to attempt to reclassify broadband for net neutrality.

"The DC Circuit's decision should mean that litigation plays out to a logical conclusion and in the meantime, the FCC should not reclassify information services as Title 2 services," he said in a statement.

He added, "The guiding principle is already explicit in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, where the government is directed 'to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation.'

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Tuesday stressed the FCC would be within its legal bounds to reclassify broadband in a way that it can begin regulating it, though he quickly noted he was not yet "advocating that" kind of change.

A federal appeals court ruled earlier in the day that the FCC has only limited powers to regulate broadband providers, as high-speed Internet is a "Title I" service over which it does not have jurisdiction.

But Kerry said Tuesday the FCC would have a "strong rationale" for revising those rules to reflect broadband as a "Title II" service, which the agency can regulate. The senator later suggested he could introduce legislation that would clear up the nation's ambiguous broadband oversight rules.

“This is a history-making decision. It appears to vacate the authority of the FCC to conduct oversight over broadband service and the telephone and cable giants that own the wires,” Kerry, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, said of the court's 3-0 decision in favor of Comcast.

“I am not advocating that the FCC reclassify broadband services as a result of this decision, but I absolutely believe they maintain that legal authority and it would be entirely consistent with the history of communications law in our country if they did," he said.

The FCC has already hinted it is considering such a change in its rules, stressing in a statement released earlier Tuesday that the court's 3-0 decision in favor of Comcast "did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end.”

But doing so would surely invoke the ire of the country's top telecommunications firms, including Verizon, AT&T and Comcast. Verizon and AT&T, at least, have already promised to fight re-classification efforts in court. Comcast, meanwhile, has already demonstrated its willingness to challenge the FCC's authority in the broadband realm.

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Today's court ruling that overturned the FCC's 2008 order for Comcast to stop interfering with traffic has caught the attention of every organization and company that cares about net neutrality. 

Here's a sampling of the statements we've received from both sides of the net neutrality debate.

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A federal appeals court on Tuesday dealt a major blow to the Obama administration and net neutrality advocates.

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Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, told the FCC to "take any actions necessary to ensure that consumers and competition are protected on the Internet."

Markey is the co-author of net neutrality legislation--the Internet Freedom Preservation Act-- in the House with California Democrats Anna Eshoo and Henry Waxman. He pointed out that the court did not question the wisdom behind net neutrality policies.

"We are now at a crucial crossroads -- do we preserve the historic openness of the Internet, which has made it the most successful communications medium of all time, or do we enable Comcast and other communications colossi to erect fast lanes and slow lanes that stifle the ingenuity and investment that have characterized the Internet since its inception?" he said.

"I will also continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to provide the Commission any additional authority it may need to ensure the openness of the Internet for consumers, innovators and investors," he said.   "Clearly, the Court’s decision must not be the final word on this vitally important matter, and I intend to work vigorously to ensure an open Internet for generations to come."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said she is pleased with the court's decision to overturn the FCC's 2008 order against Comcast.

“This decision highlights what many already believed, the FCC does not have authority to act in this area,”  Hutchison said.  “It would be wrong to double down on excessive and burdensome regulations, and I hope the FCC Chairman will now reconsider his decision to pursue expanded commission authority over broadband services in current proceedings before the agency."

Hutchison threatened to block the FCC from enacting net neutrality rules when FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed them in October.

"The Internet has grown and flourished without federal regulations because it has been able to evolve to meet rapid changes without government roadblocks holding up progress,” she said.

The FCC on Tuesday described a federal court ruling that it could not regulate broadband services as an invalidation of the agency's "approach," but not its ultimate goal.

In a statement released not long after the D.C. federal appellate court sided unanimously with Comcast, which had long challenged the FCC's authority in this realm, the agency's top spokeswoman stressed the FCC would not back down from the net neutrality fight.

“The FCC is firmly committed to promoting an open Internet and to policies that will bring the enormous benefits of broadband to all Americans," spokeswoman Jen Howard said. "It will rest these policies -- all of which will be designed to foster innovation and investment while protecting and empowering consumers -- on a solid legal foundation."

“Today’s court decision invalidated the prior Commission’s approach to preserving an open Internet," she continued. "But the Court in no way disagreed with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet; nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end.”

Howard's remarks would seem to confirm early speculation that the FCC may try to re-classify broadband as a "Title II" service, over which the agency would have jurisdiction.

Currently, broadband services fall under the "Title I" category. While the FCC sought to argue differently, telling a federal appeals court that federal law afforded the agency "ancillary" jurisdiction over broadband ISPs, the court's judges ruled on a 3-0 vote that the commission "has failed to make that showing."

On face, the decision invalidates the agency's 2008 order that Comcast cease blocking users' access to Bit Torrent, a file-sharing protocol that Comcast says was slowing down its networks.

But in a larger sense, the ruling also threatens the FCC's subsequent ability to regulate ISPs and promote net neutrality, one of the chief principles of its just-released National Broadband Plan.

However, if the FCC does seek to re-classify broadband, it is likely to face another set of tough legal battles. Top ISPs, including Comcast as well as AT&T and Verizon, have signaled they would aggressively fight any such rule change. Verizon executives have even explicitly warned the agency recently not to travel the re-classification route.

"Saying it is unwise to classify broadband as a Title II service is an understatement," Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications, said last week.

"We would end up with years of court battles," he told C-SPAN's The Communicators.

Government agencies that have adopted Google's Gmail service may start to notice their employees sharing more personal information.

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MONDAY BLOG ROUNDUP:
USTR highlights telecom trade barriers  - Juliana Gruenwald, Tech Daily Dose
Microsoft mystery event revealed - Ina Fried, CNet
Whistleblower report: Leaked video shows coverup - Nathan Hodge, Wired
Karl Rove called in to help sell census - Nancy Scola, techPresident
Time to build an Atlantic seaboard wind grid - John Timmer, ars technica
Up next from Apple: Preview of iPhone software - Nick Bilton, Bits
FCC net evangelist: Share spectrum, make sure everyone is on - Cecilia Kang, Post Tech
Already strained, AT&T soon to cope with iPad - Reuters

OTHER STORIES FROM THE HILL:
Apps for Army draws BB, iPhone, Android submissions - The Hill
FTC eyes COPPA revisions, mobile Web changes - The Hill
Google, venture capitalists ask Obama to let consumers track energy use - The Hill
Smith: Net freedom bill has 'very good' prospects - The Hill