2015 Is the Year the FCC Finally Grew a Spine

[Commentary] You could be forgiven for thinking that the Federal Communications Commission was a rubber stamp machine for the telecommunications industry. Until this year that is. When the FCC grew a spine.

If all the FCC did this year was pass the Open Internet Order, it still would have been a hell of a year for the agency. But it didn’t stop there. Emboldened by the groundswell of support for network neutrality, the agency endeavored to bring the telecommunications industry to heel. The order was quickly followed by a vote to pre-empt state laws that restrict community broadband initiatives from expanding into other regions. In April, Comcast abandoned its bid for fellow Internet provider Time-Warner Cable, largely because it had failed to secure support from the FCC and the Department of Justice. In June, the agency announced its intention to fine AT&T $100 million for throttling connection speeds for customers with unlimited data plans without giving those customers adequate warning. In October, it cracked down on prison telephone companies that charge inmates as much as $14 dollars per minute for calls by capping rates at 11 cents per minute. It also launched an investigation into whether companies like Verizon, Comcast and AT&T overcharged wireless carriers like Sprint for access to their networks.