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Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators voted to begin crafting rules to forbid Internet service providers such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. from favoring or blocking Web traffic, and to extend the regulations to wireless services.

The Federal Communications Commission moved toward so- called net neutrality rules that companies including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. say may stifle investment. Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other supporters say the action is needed to keep the Internet as a free medium where consumers rather than companies choose the best ideas and products.

The proposed regulations would build on principles adopted by the FCC in 2005. They would add a requirement for companies to disclose how networks are managed, and prohibit them from discriminating against Internet content or applications. The agency said it will take comments on the rules until March 5.

The vote begins “a process to craft reasonable and enforceable rules of the road to preserve a free and open Internet,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The Democrat and former Internet executive was appointed by President Barack Obama, who backed net neutrality during his campaign and has said he was “pleased” Genachowski planned to make rules.

Supporters of rules include Democratic leaders in Congress and companies such as EBay Inc., Facebook Inc., Craigslist Inc., Twitter and IAC/Interactive Corp., where Genachowski worked as an executive.

Playing Favorites

Today’s vote puts the U.S. “on the road toward creating a framework that promotes innovation and consumer choice on the Internet,” Markham Erickson, executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, a Washington-based group that lists Google, Amazon and EBay as members, said in an e-mail.

Phone and cable companies have said rules may interfere with management of their networks, risking slowdowns when applications such as peer-to-peer file-sharing hog limited bandwidth. Investment may suffer, they said.

“There is no problem that requires new government regulation,” said Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president of public affairs, policy and communications, in an e-mailed statement.

“We continue to hope that any rules adopted by the commission will not harm” investment and innovation, David Cohen, an executive vice president at Philadelphia-based Comcast, said in an e-mailed statement.

Giving ‘Latitude’

Genachowski said the FCC recognizes “there are real congestion and other network-management issues” and broadband providers “must be allowed latitude” to keep networks running smoothly.

“I reject the notion that we must choose between open Internet rules and investment,” Genachowski said. “This is a false choice.”

Those warning that rules may be unnecessary or bad for investment also include Republican leaders in Congress, the Communications Workers of America, and more than 70 Democratic House members who signed an Oct. 16 letter to Genachowski.

The two Republicans on the five-member commission said rules could slow investment needed to expand access to high- speed Internet services, or broadband. They said they were voting to approve the agency’s rulemaking procedure, without conceding that rules are needed.

Majority View

“I do not share the majority view that the Internet is showing breaks and cracks, nor do I believe that the government is the best tool to fix it,” said Robert McDowell, the agency’s senior Republican. He said he disagreed with “the premise that the commission has the legal authority to regulate Internet network management as proposed today.”

The agency’s vote was 5-to-0 for proceeding with the rulemaking.

Arizona Senator John McCain, last year’s Republican nominee for president, said he introduced legislation today to prevent the FCC from acting.

“Keeping businesses free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy,” McCain said in an e-mailed press release.

Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Representative Henry Waxman of California, Democrats who head each chamber’s commerce committee, said in a letter to Genachowski released by e-mail today that they back the rulemaking, and support “policies that protect consumers and promote an open Internet.”

‘Unintended Consequences’

Applying rules to mobile wireless broadband “could have significant unintended consequences” including stifled innovation, said Steve Largent, chief executive officer of CTIA- the Wireless Association, in an e-mailed statement. The Washington-based association lists among its members the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S.: AT&T; Deutsche Telekom AG’s T- Mobile unit; Sprint Nextel Corp.; and Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group PLC.

AT&T gained 16 cents to $26.10 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading, while Verizon fell 1 cent to $29.02. Google, the world’s most popular Internet search engine, rose $2.99 to $554.09 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, and Google climbed 41 cents to $15.52.