With indications that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) may release of new net-neutrality rules later this week, a group of 24 high-profile Internet companies – including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter – Monday urged the FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, to support regulations that assure neutral, non-discriminatory Internet access for all users.

In their letter addressed to Genachowski, the chief executives of these companies, along with the some telecom and media firms like EchoStar, eBay, Mozilla, Sony Electronics, TiVo and XO Communications, appreciated the chairman's efforts for initiating the process of making the net-neutrality rules official.

The technology leaders said that contrary to the opposition standpoint that new rules will hurt investment, they expect the changes to stimulate innovation because larger rivals will not be able to block apps of smaller firms. 

They stated: “An open Internet fuels a competitive and efficient marketplace, where consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail. This allows businesses of all sizes, from the smallest start-up to larger corporations, to compete, yielding maximum economic growth and opportunity.”

Meanwhile, the process of creating the new net-neutrality rules will commence on Thursday in Washington, D.C., at the monthly open meeting of the FCC.

The agency has already received some other letters - largely those opposing the rules – including those from lawmakers as well as cable and telecommunication bigwigs like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon Communications.