Robbie McBeath

The Federal Communications Commission voted to significantly expand an exemption from the transparency requirements on internet service providers that were enacted in the 2015 Open Internet Order. The expanded exemption will excuse any ISP with up to 250,000 subscribers from complying with those transparency rules.

Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood: “Here’s how cost-benefit analysis works in the Trump administration and at the Pai FCC: If any favored lobby like the cable industry claims that rules cost them money, the agency will zap those rules — without any regard for their benefits. There’s been a lot of ink spilled in the last two years about protecting small businesses from the alleged regulatory burdens of the Net Neutrality rules. But just as big cable and phone companies have failed to prove any harms from the rules in general, small ISPs have failed to demonstrate any real burdens from following these common-sense transparency requirements. The hopelessly vague, wildly disparate and frankly underwhelming numbers that various lobbying groups have sprinkled around in the docket to argue for this exemption are no justification for enlarging and extending it. Companies with hundreds of thousands of customers and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues can certainly afford to inform those customers about the services they buy. A few truly small businesses do sell internet access. But millions more small businesses buy it. There’s no reason that customers of smaller ISPs deserve less information than others do about the internet services they pay so much for each and every month.”

Ryan Clough, General Counsel at Public Knowledge: “Yet again, Chairman Pai has acted to weaken consumer protections at the FCC. Today’s action means that more ISPs could withhold essential information about their broadband pricing and service, making it harder for many more subscribers to make informed decisions and hold their providers accountable. How can it be good for consumers if companies conceal anything about the price, speed, and data caps for their broadband service?"

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka: "ACA applauds the FCC for reinstating, extending, and expanding the small Internet service provider (ISP) exemption from the Open internet enhanced transparency requirements. The FCC's action was clearly warranted. As ACA and others demonstrated - and as a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress found - application of these requirements to small ISPs would impose unreasonable costs on them while providing little, if any, benefit for end users and edge providers. ACA thanks Chairman Pai and Commissioner O'Rielly for acting so swiftly to remove the uncertainty small ISPs have lived under for the past two months. ACA also thanks Commissioner Clyburn, who understood the burdens the enhanced requirements imposed on small ISPs and who worked diligently since last fall to try to fashion a consensus solution."

NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield: “NTCA worked hard alongside a group of like-minded stakeholders to ensure that small businesses would not be burdened by substantial new compliance obligations that could easily overwhelm their operations and distract from delivery of services to consumers. While it took longer to get here than everyone expected and hoped, we are grateful to the FCC for restoring much-needed relief from these rules. NTCA members are delighted to be able to focus more instead on the business of delivering high-quality broadband services to rural consumers.”

Chairman Pai is giving lip service to addressing the digital divide, but with no concrete vision of how to support and/or improve the programs the FCC already has in place to address it. Instead, we see, late on Friday evenings, Chairman Pai and Commissioner O’Reilly quietly gutting or hampering innovative pieces of the existing programs. Given this strategy, there is no avenue for a proactive discussion between stakeholders and the FCC -- public interest advocates are left only with a reactive position.

[Commentary] On February 2, new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said, "I want this Commission to be as open and accessible as possible to the American people. I want us to do a better job of communicating with those we are here to serve" while announcing a new effort to make the agency more transparent. [We covered the news.] The next day, in what some call a “Friday News Dump,” Chairman Pai decided to rescind and hide facts previously released by the Commission. Cecilia Kang wrote in the New York Times, “In total, as the chairman of the FCC, Pai released about a dozen actions in the last week, many buried in the agency’s website and not publicly announced, stunning consumer advocacy groups and telecom analysts.”

Since the 2016 elections, we have been looking at the people who will have the greatest impact on telecommunications and media policy in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission. This week, we got a glimpse -- just a glimpse -- at changes we’ll be seeing in how the FCC operates. On February 2, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced a pilot program aimed at improving how the agency communicates with the public. He is hoping, he says, that the move starts to make FCC operations more transparent and as open and accessible as possible. Currently the FCC announces the items it will vote on at its monthly meetings about three weeks in advance of the event. However, the text of the items have not been made public until after commissioners have voted. Historically, some policy analysts say, this was to ensure that the FCC's five members could work better together, allowing them to strike policy compromises without being forced by outsiders to adopt extreme political positions. But although the secrecy may have once helped commissioners broker agreements, the FCC has grown deeply divided in recent years.

On January 23, Ajit Pai thanked President Donald Trump for naming Pai the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Many believe Chairman Pai is qualified to run the agency, but there is concern in the public interest community that his appointment will mean the end of network neutrality. Conservative policy insiders, on the other hand, paint a different picture of Chairman Pai.

On January 23, It was announced that President Donald Trump named Ajit Pai as the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Pai has been an FCC Commissioner since 2012, and therefore did not need a nomination hearing or confirmation vote in the Senate to become the Chairman. Chairman Pai will need to be reconfirmed in the Senate in 2017 before receiving a new five-year term.

FCC
Chairman Pai: "I am deeply grateful to the President of the United States for designating me the 34th Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. I look forward to working with the new Administration, my colleagues at the Commission, members of Congress, and the American public to bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans.

FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly: “I offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes to my friend and colleague, Commissioner Ajit Pai, for being designated as Chair of the FCC. His thoughtful approach, deep knowledge base, and sense of humor have been great assets to the Commission, and it makes sense that President Trump handpicked him to carry out the new Administration’s broad vision for the agency. I know the
Commission will thrive under his leadership, and I look forward to working with him and his team to tackle the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that will present themselves."

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: “I congratulate Commissioner Ajit Pai on being named Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Ajit is bright, driven and committed to bringing connectivity to all Americans. I am hopeful that we can come together to serve the public interest by supporting competition, public safety, and consumer protection.”

Legislators
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD): "“Commissioner Pai is well known for his intellectual rigor, passion for innovative ideas and technologies, and adherence to the letter and spirit of the law,” said Chairman Thune. “I enjoy his can-do attitude, admire his principled transparency, and share his commitment to rural communities. I look forward to working with him as he steps into his new role as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce subcommittee on technology, promised that Chairman Pai would run into a “wall of opposition” from those committed to protecting net neutrality. But he said he's cautiously optimistic that Chairman Pai may seek to find a middle ground. “The Commerce Committee and the FCC have been islands of nonpartisanship over the years and only recently have there been so many party-line votes,” said Sen Schatz. “So perhaps Chairman Pai can get back to a place where the FCC does the work of trying to arrive at compromises. If he doesn’t, then both sides will dig in and we’ll fight accordingly, but my guidance to him would be to look for common ground, because the Democratic commissioners are reasonable people and usually we’re arguing about the how and not the what.”

“As with many appointments by Mr. Trump, I am concerned that as Chairman, Commissioner Pai will work for policies that benefit special interests and Big Cable, which have sought for years to control access to content on the internet above the interests of the American people,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said. “I will hold the FCC accountable to protect consumers and fight any attempt to roll back net neutrality," he added.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), a member of the Commerce Committee, also promised to “vigorously oppose” any efforts to undermine net neutrality or other consumer protections.

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent President Donald Trump a letter arguing that Pai is "not a supporter of the FCC’s strong rules to protect an open internet, putting at risk our robust net neutrality rules and the three million internet economy jobs it supports."

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): "Today we welcome a new era of leadership and decision making at the FCC. Commissioner Pai’s expertise on the issues has been well documented and we’re looking forward to working with him to advance conservative, thoughtful solutions at the FCC.”

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote Chairman Pai a letter. They said, "By some measures, the FCC oversees approximately one sixth of the United States economy. Your success at managing such a critical agency is dependent on your ability to be responsive to members of Congress on both sides of the aisle; your willingness to drive towards consensus on major Commission actions; and your respect for career staff—the lifeblood of the agency.” In the letter the members asked Pai to make three key commitments during his tenure as Chairman of the FCC:
1. You will ensure that the Commission will brief relevant Committee leadership—no matter their party—on all major decisions before the Commission acts and that you will be responsive to all Congressional inquiries.
2. You will work with your colleagues in a bi-partisan fashion to reach consensus before moving ahead with major policy decisions.
3. You will not take any effort to retaliate against, undermine, demote or marginalize civil servants on the basis of their analysis or their work under previous Commission leadership.

Public Interest Advocates

"I congratulate Ajit Pai on his elevation to Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. From personal experience I know it to be an intensely challenging but intensely rewarding job,” said former FCC Chairman Michael Copps, now an advisor to Common Cause. "As a bit of unsolicited advice I encourage the new Chairman to take the Commission outside of Washington, so Commissioners can meet with and hear from the people who live with the policies they make. I am totally convinced the majority of Americans, including many who voted for the new president, strongly favor an open internet and a media ecosystem that is up to the task of informing democracy,” he added.

Gene Kimmelman, President and CEO at Public Knowledge: “Commissioner Pai has a history of attacking consumer protections, from the Open Internet order to our right to privacy online. Even so, every Commissioner who has been elevated to Chairman discovers the job is very different from what he or she thought it would be. Most quickly discover that getting things done while running an agency sometimes requires a different set of skills as well as a willingness to compromise. With this in mind, we urge Chairman Pai to preserve consumer protections and to focus on driving down prices and expanding choices for all essential communications services while preserving the Commission’s recent pro-competitive and consumer protection rules and actions.”

"Two things are certain: The Federal Communications Commission is uniquely situated to improve the everyday lives of all Americans and Chairman Pai now has the honor and bears the weight of responsibility of leading that agency into the future," said the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "NHMC is hopeful that Chairman Pai will be truly open to the diverse viewpoints of all stakeholders as he leads his agency in service of the people of this country and the public interest. Chairman Pai’s views have often diverged from those of NHMC and other groups representing the voices of communities of color and vulnerable populations on a number of key telecommunications issues— namely the importance of preserving the open internet, support for critical programs striving for universal access to broadband like Lifeline and E-Rate, the impact of increasing consolidation on the media and telecommunications industries, and the ongoing fight for prison phone justice. NHMC urges Chairman Pai to begin his new term with a commitment to achieving the fundamental goals of the FCC: increasing diversity, enforcing rules that protect consumers, striving for truly universal service, and fostering real competition.”

Sarah Morris, director of open internet policy for New America's Open Technology Institute, had some advice for the new chairman: “Throughout his tenure at the FCC, Commissioner Pai has been a steadfast opponent of net neutrality and consumer privacy rules, and a rubber stamp for mega-mergers," she said. "His anti-regulatory agenda is a gift to telecom lobbyists and a major threat to consumers, small businesses, and the American economy. We urge the Commission to remain true to its public interest mandate and resist efforts to roll back vital consumer protections like the Open Internet Order. The American people need an FCC that fights for them, and they will hold this FCC Chairman accountable.”

Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron made the following statement: “Ajit Pai has been on the wrong side of just about every major issue that has come before the FCC during his tenure. He’s never met a mega-merger he didn’t like or a public safeguard he didn’t try to undermine. He’s been an inveterate opponent of Net Neutrality, expanded broadband access for low-income families, broadband privacy, prison-phone justice, media diversity and more. Pai has been an effective obstructionist who has always been eager to push out what the new presidential administration might call alternative facts in defense of the corporate interests he used to represent in the private sector. If Trump really wanted an FCC chairman who’d stand up against the runaway media consolidation that he himself decried in the AT&T/Time Warner deal, Pai would have been his last choice — though corporate lobbyists across the capital are probably thrilled. Millions of Americans from across the political spectrum have looked to the FCC to protect their rights to connect and communicate and cheered decisions like the historic Net Neutrality ruling, and Pai threatens to undo all of that important work. Those millions will rise up again to oppose his reactionary agenda.”

“High-speed Internet is essential to economic and social life in the 21st century," said the Communications Workers of America. We look to Chairman Pai to promote policies that encourage quality jobs and investment in broadband infrastructure to all Americans, protect an Open Internet, and preserve a diverse media that is so essential to our democracy. In March 2016, then-Commissioner Pai stated that the Federal Communications Commission ‘is at its best when it operates in a bipartisan, collaborative, and transparent manner.’ We hope that Chairman Pai will honor his statement and work with his colleagues to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to the Internet through essential FCC programs, such as the modernized Lifeline program, E-rate support to schools and libraries, and the Connect America Fund.”

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Commissioner Pai to protect the interests of children and families on matters that have come before the FCC in recent years," said Parents Television Council President Tim Winter. "During his tenure at the FCC, Commissioner Pai has demonstrated his support for enforcing the longstanding broadcast indecency law, which gives the FCC authority to protect the publicly-owned broadcast airwaves from indecent content during times of the day when children are likely to be watching. He has always been a conscientious listener when the PTC has raised other matters of concern. And as a father of young children himself, he understands that media content can have a powerful and profound impact on children. We applaud today’s appointment of Commissioner Ajit Pai as the new FCC Chairman. We stand ready, willing and able to help him on matters of mutual concern,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

Industry

"We congratulate Ajit Pai on his well-deserved appointment to be Chairman of the FCC," said Michael Powell, chairman of NCTA: The Internet & Television Association. "During his tenure on the Commission, Chairman Pai has consistently demonstrated a common-sense philosophy that consumers are best served by a robust marketplace that encourages investment, innovation and competition. We stand ready to assist Chairman Pai and his colleagues in their effort to promote policies which ensure that America remains a global internet, communications and entertainment leader.”

“We congratulate Ajit Pai on his appointment as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission," said Comcast EVP David Cohen, the company's top policy exec. "He has served with great distinction as a Commissioner over the past four and a half years, and has demonstrated that he is highly qualified to lead the Commission. We commend his tireless efforts to develop and support policies that benefit American consumers and spur greater investment and innovation in broadband technologies to connect all Americans and drive job creation. This is a terrific appointment for the American consumer and the companies the FCC regulates and we look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Pai in his new role.”

"Chairman Pai’s experience at DOJ, in Congress and especially at the FCC, along with his keen intellect and affable nature, will help him lead the FCC to accomplish great things," said Catherine Bohigian, EVP, government affairs, for Charter. "He understands that the appropriate amount of regulation enables businesses to grow, adding jobs, spurring innovation and creating economic growth for the benefit of consumers and the public interest. We at Charter congratulate Chairman Pai and look forward to working with him and his fellow Commissioners to implement a pro-investment, pro-broadband deployment agenda to the benefit of consumers in cities and towns across the country."

"ACA is pleased that President Trump has selected Ajit Pai as Chairman of the FCC," said American Cable Association president Matt Polka. "Over his many years of service as a Commissioner, he has demonstrated an extensive knowledge of communications law and policy and a deep understanding of the communications business and industry dynamic. Moreover, we at ACA have always found he has an open door to listen to our views and proposals. He respects and understands the concerns of independent cable operators, especially in those cases where they have been required to shoulder enormous regulatory burdens to the same extent as much larger providers, such as new obligations to comply with the Open Internet's enhanced transparency rules."

“Ajit Pai is an exceptional choice to head the Federal Communications Commission," said USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter. "He’s a thoughtful, forward-looking and energetic leader who has never forgotten his roots in rural Kansas, and the need to deliver high-speed broadband access to all parts of our country. "We share Commissioner Pai's vision for a ‘Broadband First’ future based on a bold but pragmatic strategy to erase the many regulatory barriers impeding the expansion of our nation's communications infrastructure, and the jobs and economic opportunity that depend on it," said Spalter. "I am excited to work with the new chairman -- as well as with the new Administration and Congress -- to advance policies, partnerships, and programs that will bring broadband's benefits to all our families, communities, and businesses, and ensure our nation's telecommunications innovators can invest and compete on a level regulatory playing field.”

Bob Quinn, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President of External & Legislative Affairs: “Today, on his first official day in office, President Trump designated Ajit Pai as the new FCC Chairman. No one is more prepared to reframe the agency to address the needs of this rapidly changing marketplace. Chairman Pai will work with his fellow Commissioners to quickly and decisively put back in place the commonsense regulatory framework necessary to support the President’s agenda for job creation, innovation and investment. Congratulations to Chairman Pai. We look forward to working with him and his team and the FCC to support President Trump’s growth agenda.”

"During his tenure, Chairman Pai has been a strong advocate of smart, forward-looking policies in the communications space, a steadfast supporter of issues including broadband expansion, particularly in rural areas, and a proponent of innovation and new ideas that will benefit consumers and the nation as a whole," said Verizon SVP Kathy Grillo. "We believe Chairman Pai truly knows and understands the issues facing our industry, and is a critical thinker who will look for ways to help communications and technology companies fuel growth in the American economy.

John Jones, SVP for public policy and government relations for CenturyLink, said that he hopes Chairman Pai will free large telcos from what he says are burdensome regulations. “We look forward to continuing to work with Commissioner Pai, who will bring a much-needed free market approach to his new role,” Jones said. “Hopefully this will result in the thoughtful elimination of outdated, unnecessary federal regulations that stifle investment and no longer reflect rapidly evolving consumer demands and the entry of innovative, new competitors.”

“Frontier looks forward to working with Chairman Pai and the Commission on issues of critical importance to our country, such as expanding broadband deployment in rural America and updating FCC regulations to promote next-generation technologies,” Frontier said.

“Since joining the commission in 2012, Commissioner Pai has shown a commitment to solving rural broadband challenges and to thinking creatively about ways our country can more effectively deploy and sustain advanced communications in rural America," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.

“CCA fully supports the nomination of Commissioner Pai as the next Chairman of the FCC,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steven Berry. “Commissioner Pai is an avowed believer in creating a regulatory environment that encourages investment and innovation, and strongly believes in policies that respect the technological changes of today’s marketplace. He has made his office open to CCA members, and with his roots in Kansas, certainly understands the importance of ensuring high-speed mobile broadband all across the country, including rural areas. I congratulate Commissioner Pai on his nomination and look forward to our continued work with the entire Commission on creating a more competitive ecosystem for the benefit of carriers and consumers alike.”

"Commissioner Pai is a champion for innovation, leading the way on key issues that impact the growth of our modern communications networks, ensuring consumers' access to those networks in underserved areas and cautioning against unnecessary, growth-chilling regulation," said Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro. "CTA looks forward to continuing to work with Commissioner Pai to tackle challenging issues, including the allocation of additional spectrum licensed and unlicensed bands to power consumers' growing demand for anytime/anywhere connectivity and expanding broadband access and digital opportunity to all Americans."

“As FCC Chairman, commissioner Pai will be a champion of consumers in all corners of the country during this time of profound wireless innovation," said Diane Smith, interim chair of Mobile Future. "His forward-thinking leadership will be instrumental in expanding the infrastructure needed to support the opportunity-rich transition to a 5G future. We are confident he will maintain a razor-sharp focus on creating an environment that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship, and have no doubt the FCC will be a catalyst for progress under his chairmanship.”

"Chairman Pai brings invaluable experience and insight that is sure to benefit American consumers and businesses through sound policymaking," said the Internet Innovation Alliance. "IIA looks forward to working with Chairman Pai and the entire Commission on new policies to advance investment and deployment of 21st century, next-generation, high-speed broadband networks."

“As commissioner at the FCC, Ajit Pai has released a substantive plan for broadband network deployment that has the potential to empower communities around the nation,' said Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS. "We look forward to working with him on these shared goals. INCOMPAS believes competition policy, inspired by President Ronald Reagan, is the fastest way to deploy new broadband infrastructure that is both fast and affordable. Whether urban or rural, the homes, office buildings and factories with more broadband competition have more connections to the future. We look forward to working with Chairman Pai toward this goal.”

CTIA, Meredith Attwell Baker, CEO: "On behalf of CTIA and the wireless industry, we congratulate Chairman Pai. During his time on the Commission, he has championed spectrum and infrastructure reform and is a leading voice for a common sense approach to open internet and privacy. We applaud Chairman Pai's work and vision including his Digital Empowerment Agenda and its promise of reducing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment and expanding opportunities for innovation and economic growth across the country. We look forward to working with Chairman Pai and the FCC to secure America's position as a global wireless leader."

“I applaud the expected appointment of Ajit Pai as the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)," said David Chavern, News Media Alliance president."Commissioner Pai has been an avid supporter of the news media industry, recognizing the importance of investment in journalism," said Chavern. “His continued service and leadership would be a valuable contribution to the Commission.”

According to Mediacom, the former Verizon corporate lawyer is just a simple populist who grew up in Parsons, Kansas, and “is personally aware of the daily struggles faced by working-class citizens living in small cities and towns across our nation. In his new role as Chairman, we hope he works to balance a regulatory landscape that today prioritizes the political agendas of Hollywood and Silicon Valley over the economic challenges faced by rural Americans."

As we await the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, the 115th Congress is back at work. In a week that contained a flurry of nomination hearings, a late-night vote-a-rama, and an interesting press conference, the key Congressional communications policy committees announced their membership. Below we take a look at the new committee rosters -- as well as what to expect for the new Federal Communications Commission.

Republican leadership criticized while some Democratic lawmakers were praising the Federal Communications Commission's report finding that some zero-rating plans may run afoul of network neutrality rules. Zero-rating offerings exempt some services, including video streaming services, from counting toward a user's broadband data plan. In some cases, the service pays the ISP to exempt their content.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said, "We are disappointed to see the FCC moving controversial items like the recent staff report on zero-rating in the waning hours of Chairman Wheeler’s tenure. Chairman Wheeler’s decision to move forward with this report is a rare trifecta of anti-consumer policy, inappropriate use of delegated authority, and directly contradicting a request of Congress. Ultimately, if taken at face-value the findings in the report threaten to reduce consumer choice and drive up monthly bills. Our regulatory agencies should aim to foster innovation and competitive service offerings that benefit consumers, not squelch innovative business plans in their infancy. We remain hopeful that the agency will refrain from taking action on controversial items in the remaining days of this administration, and we’re looking forward to working with the next commission to encourage robust technological innovation for consumers across the country.”

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) had led calls for tough action on "harmful zero-rating offerings" they thought ran afoul of the rules and led the applause at the findings. “In response to our inquiry, the FCC has issued clear guidelines on how to protect consumers from harmful zero-rating plans that violate the core tenants of net neutrality,” Sen Markey said. “These guiding principles will help the FCC, industry, and the public evaluate zero-rating offerings and identify plans that distort competition, stifle innovation, and hamper user choice and free speech. I will continue to work with my colleagues to encourage the Commission to enforce these guidelines and ensure that the internet remains a permission-less environment where anyone with an idea or voice can participate.”

Sen Al Franken (D-MN), a big network neutrality fan and among those who joined in a letter to the FCC last November asking for the review, did share the FCC's concerns. "A free and open internet has been a crucial engine for innovation and economic growth," he said. "That's why I'm pleased to see that the FCC has heeded our call and released a framework for evaluating zero-rating plans, which can often harm competitors and consumers. This report evaluating whether zero rating plans violate net neutrality will help make sure the internet remains the free and open platform that it's always been. Keeping the internet open is critical to our democracy.”

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), were also signatories to the letter and added their applause.

“Despite clever branding gimmicks, so called ‘free data’ or zero-rating plans like those offered by AT&T and Verizon are a scheme to manipulate consumers and transfer money from their pockets to a company’s bottom line,” said Wyden. “This report lays the framework for ensuring zero-rating plans don’t betray net neutrality and is a step in the right direction towards maintaining a free and open internet.”

“I commend the Commission for undertaking this careful and thorough report on how zero-rating offerings may negatively affect consumers and competition,” added Blumenthal. “As wireless carriers look for creative ways to differentiate themselves, it would serve them well to take heed of this report’s findings and address any red flags in their own offerings. This report confirms my concerns that some zero-rating offerings not only subvert the spirit of net neutrality, but also unfairly distort competition, disadvantage consumers, and decrease choice.”

“Consumers have repeatedly expressed their support for free data. The so-called ‘guidance’ issued today by the staff of the Wireless Bureau is not about consumers," said Mobile Future interim chair Diane Smith. "It is an effort to pick winners and losers based on the Washington-knows-best mentality. Rather than tipping the scales toward preferred business models, the FCC should let consumers decide for themselves which models, and free data, they prefer.”

"Let’s hope the next FCC recognizes the benefit of genuinely new business models bringing additional competition in video distribution," said ITIF policy analyst Doug Brake. "We should not discourage models that by any measure increase the options to access Internet services, functionally increase video competition, and lower expenses for consumers."

Adonis Hoffman, chairman of Business in the Public Interest and a former top FCC official, said the FCC advisory was confusing. "If the open internet order is all about competition, and consumers like the competitive data offerings by the two leading providers, what is the problem? While the original intent of the open internet rule may have been noble, its enforcement in this case is anything but. Sadly, this may become the Chairman's Dunkirk."

The Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy & Consumer Rights held a hearing on AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner, a deal that would combine nation’s largest pay-TV provider, second-largest wireless company, and third-largest broadband provider with a media entertainment titan that among other things, owns HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT and Warner Brothers studios. A fun time was had by all.

[Commentary] Expecting, perhaps, a wave of new Members of Congress, we had an eye on the elections of Members of key Congressional committees with jurisdiction over telecommunications. We found, again, however, that most Members will be returning for another 2 or 6 years. But, this time, to an entirely different political landscape. Stymied by the threat of Presidential veto for the last few years, Republicans in Congress have a pent up agenda. Network neutrality, Federal Communications Commission process reform, and maybe even a Telecommunications Act rewrite are all on the table. Here’s a look at what well could be the telecommunications agenda in the 115th Congress -- and who’s in charge of that agenda.