FCC Votes To Protect Small Businesses From Needless Transparency Regulation

The Federal Communications Commission relieved thousands of smaller broadband providers from onerous reporting obligations stemming from the 2015 Title II Order, freeing them to devote more resources to operating, improving and building out their networks.

An Order adopted by the Commission finds that providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections would be disproportionately impacted if required to comply immediately with the 2015 enhanced reporting requirements. These providers frequently serve rural areas that lack broadband, or provide competitive alternatives for consumers in other markets. The Order mirrors the bipartisan compromise reflected in the pending Small Business Broadband Deployment Act of 2017. After today's action, smaller providers must still give consumers the information that has been required since 2010 to assist them in making an informed choice of broadband providers. The Order applies retroactively and prospectively to cover the period beginning on the date the enhanced reporting requirements became effective, January 17, 2017, and ending five years after the date the order is adopted.