The internet was founded on the principle of anti-discrimination – that bits are bits, that every node makes its best effort to deliver internet traffic. This principle has allowed small startup companies to compete for eyeballs on the same terms as large incumbents. That freedom to compete online has paid off big-time for consumers, entrepreneurs and America’s economy.

In today’s broadband market, however, there is no true competition that allows consumers and innovators to choose between internet access providers. Instead, a very few providers operate as monopolies or duopolies and hold nearly unrestrained pricing power over the wires and cables going to our homes. Not only can they charge non-market prices – they can operate their networks in ways that harm consumers and undermine online innovation, exactly when we need it most.

Big Cable, having monopolized the 21st-century communications infrastructure, is now looking to boost its short-term profits by creating pay-to-play fast lanes. Which should come as no surprise, but the consequences are unacceptable. Paid prioritization schemes will make it harder for new companies to get out of the garage. And they will undermine the incentives for broadband access providers to continually upgrade America’s internet infrastructure.

Well, Big Cable is underestimating Americans if it thinks it can distract or mislead them with half-truths and legal jargon. The public understands the real-world consequences of pay-to-play discrimination. And the record 3m internet users who just finished submitting comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are not going to rest until they are sure that the FCC will effectively protect the principle of equal access to a best-in-class broadband ecosystem.

We are at a real crossroads on net neutrality, and it’s not enough to get angry about telecom monopolies anymore. It’s not enough to play watchdog. It is time for the FCC to use its authority to safeguard our broadband future. That means putting an end to plans by Big Cable and its lobbyists to extract internet tolls from some companies while relegating the rest of us to the slow lane. That means the net neutrality fight still needs you to pipe up.

After a public outcry over a proposal to scrap the open internet, Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the FCC, finally recognized this month that policymakers have a responsibility “to do everything in our power to ensure that the United States has the world’s most dynamic and competitive broadband ecosystem with a virtuous cycle of new investment, new innovations, and new services.”

I agree. I’m proud to count myself as one of the millions of Americans who have been busy writing, calling and tweeting to insist that the FCC do its job.

The FCC must adopt rules that reflects today’s broadband reality. First, it must classify broadband access providers as common carriers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act, which is the sound source of legal authority that Congress provided the FCC to write clear rules of the road to preserve and defend the open internet. Any other approach will leave the FCC nipping at the heels of Big Cable as it steamrolls over the public interest and ties the FCC up in another protracted legal battle.

Next, the FCC must use its authority to prohibit the sort of paid prioritization schemes that stifle investment in new, game-changing products. Because while I enjoy the occasional House of Cards marathon, it’s not just about Netflix. It’s about the next Netflix – and all the other innovative technology coming down the pike.

Finally, the FCC must ensure that it preserves the open internet in a manner that actually keeps it open for innovation. Big Cable is misleading the public by arguing that creating common-sense rules of the road is the same as burdensome overregulation. That’s simply not the case. In fact, Congress has given the FCC discretion to refrain from applying any Title II regulations that are not necessary to protect consumers and the public interest. It only takes a handful of such provisions to address the dangers of paid prioritization.

The FCC also needs to send a signal to other governments that the United States will stand up for net neutrality. US companies need a level internet playing field at home, and they need a level internet playing field around the globe. Any regulatory approach that leaves room for discrimination within the US market may be used by foreign governments as cover to discriminate against US internet services.

Today’s consumers are savvier and more attuned to internet policy than they were even a few years ago. In 2010, it took over a year for internet companies and Americans to rally with me to successfully block so-called Pipa and Sopa legislation that would have led to flat-out internet censorship. In 2012, they came together to fend off draconian internet security schemes like Cispa.

But today, the grassroots of the internet are already mobilized in support of the open internet. Last week alone, Americans flooded Congressional phone lines with more than 1,000 calls a minute and over 2m emails to my colleagues in Washington, letting them know that will not sit quietly until the principle of net neutrality is secure.

Congress has given FCC the authority to ensure that the internet remains an open platform for innovation, communication and commerce. Now it’s time for the FCC to do its job and show that it values the future of the internet more than a well-funded lobbying campaign.