The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that the recent court ruling in the Comcast case will not hamper the agency’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aimed at expanding broadband Internet access in the country.

The greatly-debated NBP largely seeks the countrywide adoption of high-speed Internet service, improved availability of high-speed connections for wireless devices, and financial backing for broadband service in rural areas.

Saying that the effect of the court ruling – which implied that the FCC lacked authority to regulate the Internet – was still under consideration by the agency’s lawyers, Genachowski stopped short of disclosing whether the FCC will work out a reclassification of Internet service as a utility, similar to telephone service, to surmount the court decision.

Noting that the FCC – which does not intend filing an appeal – is largely looking to pursue its NBP goals and comply with the court ruling at the same time, Genachowski said that the court decision did not restrict the agency’s clout in terms of protecting consumers in their use of communications networks, “whether traditional networks or newer data networks.”

Emphasizing that the FCC’s efforts will be “consistent with the Communications Act,” Genachowski said: “I assure you that anything we do in all of the areas concerning communications will have solid legal authority.”