After Supreme Court loss, ISPs ask Trump administration to block state broadband affordability laws

Broadband lobby groups asked the Trump administration to block state laws that require Internet service providers to offer cheap plans to people with low incomes. The biggest lobby groups for the cable, telecommunications, and mobile industries made the request in a filing with the US Department of Justice. The groups want the DOJ to sue states such as New York, which requires internet service providers to offer broadband for $15 or $20 a month to people who meet income eligibility requirements. "The Antitrust Division should work with other components of the Department of Justice to consider bringing affirmative preemption litigation against the harmful state laws already on the books or soon enacted—particularly those that directly regulate broadband rates," the groups wrote in the filing. The groups also said the Justice Department should collaborate with the Federal Communications Commission "to thoroughly examine every possible tool in the federal government's toolbox, including any and all ways in which the Commission can take regulatory action to preempt harmful state regulations." The filing was submitted by CTIA-The Wireless Association, NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, and USTelecom-The Broadband Association.