WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) will officially propose rules regarding the Open Internet next Thursday, according to press reports and FCC briefings.

The rules, according to reports, would authorize phone and cable ISPs to create a two-tiered internet of slow lanes and fast lanes and to charge web companies for access to the “fast lanes,” transforming the internet’s current level playing field and that some believe could threaten innovation and entrepreneurship.

On Wednesday, a broad cross-section of more than 100 Internet companies and innovators filed a letter calling on the FCC to abandon its apparent path and instead to protect and preserve an open, equal internet.

The signers – a diverse group including tiny startups, household names, and industry giants – called for Open Internet Rules that afford companies and entrepreneurs strong protections against online discrimination and individualized bargaining.

Here are some excerpts from the letter:

“The commission’s long-standing commitment and actions undertaken to protect the open Internet are a central reason why the Internet remains an engine of entrepreneurship and economic growth … Instead of permitting individualized bargaining and discrimination, the commission’s rules should protect users and Internet companies on both fixed and mobile platforms against blocking, discrimination, and paid prioritization, and should make the market for Internet services more transparent. The rules should provide certainty to all market participants and keep the costs of regulation low. Such rules are essential for the future of the Internet ….”

Some of the bigger companies that agreed to the message include: Amazon, Cogent, Dropbox, Ebay, Etsy, Facebook Foursquare, Google, Kickstarter, Level 3, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Netflix, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Vonage Holdings Corp., Yahoo! Inc., and Zynga. Nearly 100 additional companies also were listed on filing.

Engine Advocacy and New America’s Open Technology Institute, two long-time supporters of Open Internet policies who both helped organize the effort, issued statements following the groups’ filing of the letter.

“Young, high-tech firms have represented all net new job growth in this country for the last 30 years. It is these startups that drive our economic prosperity, create jobs, and improve our lives. Yet these companies stand to suffer the most when faced with uncertain, discriminatory rules that threaten the Open Internet,” said Julie Samuels, executive director of Engine Advocacy.

“Startups are often unable to compete at scale to overcome, negotiate with, and manage thousands of discriminatory carriers and networks,” she added. “Young, high-tech firms must rely on the certainty of non-discriminatory rules to continue to grow, create jobs, and build new technologies. This is why we urge the FCC to protect the Open Internet.”

Alan Davidson, director of the Open Technology Institute and vice president at New America, said that today’s message is clear: An open Internet is essential for innovation and expression online.

“This letter represents the collective voice of the world’s strongest innovators and demonstrates a shared commitment to meaningful network neutrality,” he said. “As the letter argues, broadband communication without discrimination is essential to the success of the Internet economy. The Internet works best when consumers control what they say and do on the connections that they pay for, and the FCC’s rules should protect those connections from discriminatory interference.”

The letter prompted one FCC commissioner to call for a delay of a vote on the plan scheduled for May 15.

FCC spokesman Neil Grace told Reuters that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler does not plan to delay the vote.