Within a few days of President Obama asking regulators to reclassify the Internet as public utility—i.e. adopting so-called "net neutrality" rules preventing broadband providers from favoring some sites over others—a few high-profile opponents have emerged, some perhaps unexpected.
Cisco CEO John Chambers told CNBC that it would be a "major mistake" for the U.S. to adopt the net neutrality rules that Obama advocates.
"I think it was a major mistake to revisit Title II [the regulation governing broadband],: Chambers said..
"I've just come out of Europe last month. The European commissioners, country leads, [and] companies view the U.S. model as the one that is right and our broadband buildout over the four to five years has been very good, probably one of the best in the world," he said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."
Not to be outdone, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban went to Twitter to compare net neutrality rules to the confiscation of property outlined in the Ayn Rand novel "Atlas Shrugged."
As should probably have been expected, the GOP, feeling emboldened after their victorious mid-term elections, warned that the rules advocated by President Obama are "beyond the scope" of the Federal Communications Commission's authority. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, went so far as "'Net Neutrality' is Obamacare for the Internet."
Read MoreFCC could defy Obama on Net Neutrality
A legal fight has also been threatened by companies such as .
FCC chairman Wheeler has that he favors a less-aggressive approach than the one President Obama advocated, but the agency is under no deadline to adopt any rules.