by Tony Romm

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Thursday announced his agency would seek to regain its lost grip on broadband by applying some of the rules that govern phone companies to Internet providers.

One month to the day since a federal court stripped the FCC of that authority, setting back the agency's dual goals of expanding broadband access and instituting tough rules to ensure open Internet, Genachowski took the first steps in restoring what he described as "the shared understanding" that the FCC should protect broadband consumers.

Genachowski's announcement is sure to satisfy net neutrality proponents -- from public-interest groups to companies like Google and Skype, which have long called on the commission to enforce open Internet rules. But the move will likely put Genachowski, the FCC and the Obama administration on a collision course with broadband providers -- like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon -- which have long questioned the FCC's authority to regulate broadband using its internal, rule-making process.