Google, Microsoft, eBay, Amazon.com and InterActiveCorp representatives said in letters and statements to a U.S. House of Representatives panel that the new legislation it is preparing is too heavy-handed and favors certain technologies to the detriment of others.
The draft bill first released in mid-September and re-released with changes last week (click for PDF), proposes rules for three prongs of broadband services: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), broadband video services and broadband Internet transmission services, or BITS.
BITS is defined as "a packet-switched service that is offered to the public." That characterization of BITS was intended to place DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable providers on equal footing, legislators said upon the draft's release.