Thousands weighed in for and against new "net neutrality" rules during a three-month comment period that concluded Friday, underscoring unusual popular interest in a highly technical and little-understood aspect of internet policy.

Net neutrality is an ill-defined principle that is usually understood to mean that ISPs shouldn't slow down, block or impair content or services from rivals. Proponents of net neutrality contend that the nation's largest broadband companies now offer services like internet telephony and online video and have both the ability and incentive to slow down or even block competing services such as Vonage or YouTube.

Net neutrality jumped onto the public's radar when executives from AT&T and Verizon discussed charging companies like Google extra money to carry data packets

"Please act to ensure internet neutrality; we citizens need the FCC to protect the public airwaves so that we have access equal to that of the fabulously wealthy and the corporate world