Upcoming policy issue

Biden’s FCC Revives the Longest-Running Policy Fight in Tech

The Federal Communications Commission is heading into the next round of Washington’s longest-running fight over technology policy. On Oct. 19 the agency is slated to take a preliminary vote to reassert its authority to regulate broadband providers, clearing the way to pass a version of the net neutrality rules that it eviscerated during the Trump administration.

House Commerce Committee Republicans to FCC Chair Rosenworcel: “The Net Neutrality Debate was Settled When the Internet Didn’t Break”

We write to express our disappointment and opposition to your announcement that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to reclassify fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Not only is this bad public policy, but it is also unlawful. Reclassification and the associated heavy-handed regulations that accompany this action continues to be a solution in search of a problem. We seek the following information by October 31, 2023:

The Importance of Spending Federal Funds to Build Broadband Right the First Time

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress established a preference for “priority broadband projects,” defined as projects providing broadband service that meet high performance standards, can scale with consumer and business needs over time, and will enable the deployment of 5G and other advanced services. After receiving input from a wide range of parties, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) determined that “end-to-end fiber optic facilities” were the only platform that satisfied these requirements and warranted such a priority.

What Is Net Neutrality? Myths and Realities

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced her plan to restore the agency’s rightful authority to protect internet users. To undermine this effort, the industry has cranked up its Title II myth machine.

USTelecom Letter to House and Senate Intelligence Committees on Cybersecurity and Title II

While this is not the first time the Federal Communications Commission has pursued Title II regulation purportedly to address net neutrality, it is the first time the FCC has reached beyond the no blocking, degrading, or prioritizing principles to which broadband providers already adhere. The FCC is veering into the complex realm of cybersecurity and national security via top-down regulation rather than collaborative partnership, a choice many experts view with skepticism.

Supreme Court To Hear Case That Could Weaken FCC

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in early 2024 that could impact how much regulatory discretion the FCC has over the communications industry. The court agreed to hear the case of Relentless Inc., et al. v. Dept. of Commerce, et al. The case is about a federal rule requiring fishing companies to pay for government monitoring of their herring catches.

Chairs Rodgers and Latta Call on NTIA Administrator to Prioritize Closing the Digital Divide and Connecting Every American

In 2021, Congress provided $65 billion to close the digital divide. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is responsible for administering most of this money, including the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which will provide states grant money to award providers to deploy broadband networks in unserved and underserved areas. We are concerned about state plans that propose to use funds in ways that will not provide universal connectivity or that are contrary to law.

How Net Neutrality Protects Consumers & Speech

A fact sheet on how net neutrality protects consumers and online freedom of speech. Open internet protections have long had widespread – upwards of 80 percent – support from the American people who have come to expect that they will be able to access all lawful content on the internet uninhibited by their broadband service provider’s business decisions. Across administrations from 2005 to 2018, it was the clear policy of the FCC to enforce open internet standards.

Net neutrality’s court fate depends on whether broadband is “telecommunications”

The Federal Communications Commission currently regulates broadband internet access service (BIAS, if you will) as an "information service" under Title I of the Communications Act. As the FCC contemplates reclassifying BIAS as a telecommunications service under Title II's common-carrier framework, the question is whether the FCC has authority to do so. Federal appeals courts have upheld previous FCC decisions on whether to apply common carrier rules to broadband.

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Applauds Biden Administration's Commitment to Ending Digital Discrimination

Today’s NTIA filing underscores how many government-wide initiatives will be affected by the FCC’s implementation of the digital discrimination mandates in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society shares NTIA’s belief that robust rules that can address the disparate impact of broadband deployment and service offerings will serve the needs of all Americans.

NTIA calls for Strong Digital Discrimination Rules

Having studied barriers to Internet use for the last three decades, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is intimately familiar with the longstanding disparities that keep far too many Americans from realizing the full benefits of modern communications and information technologies.

Public Comment Period Open Now for Idaho's Broadband Initial Proposal

The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board and Idaho Office of Broadband have opened a public comment period on the state’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal (Volumes I and II) for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The state has been working to identify Idaho’s internet needs, challenges and opportunities to develop internet expansion plans. The work is reflected in the state’s draft BEAD Initial Proposal.

Michiganders Asked for Feedback on Using $1.6B in Federal Funding to Expand High-Speed Internet Access Across the State

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) is now accepting public comment on Volume 1 of Michigan’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal.

Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

Fact Sheet on National Security and Public Safety Impacts of Restoring Broadband Oversight

Currently, no federal agency can effectively monitor or address broadband outages that threaten jobs, education, and public safety. And while the Federal Communications Commission has acted on a bipartisan basis to secure our communications networks against companies controlled by hostile foreign governments, the lack of specific authority over broadband leaves open a national security loophole.

Sen Thune Leads Colleagues in Opposing Biden FCC’s Internet Takeover

Over 40 Republican senators signed a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urging her to abandon her proposal to reinstate net neutrality rules. Re-imposing heavy-handed, public-utility regulations on the internet, they wrote, would threaten the progress our country has made since 2017, and it would steer our country out of the fast lane and into a world of less competition, less choice, less investment, slower speeds, and higher prices. Further, the FCC lacks this statutory authority over broadband internet access.

FCC Commissioner Carr Warns Against Following Europe's Lead on Internet Controls

Europe’s utility-style regulations, which have nothing at all to do with net neutrality, would be a serious mistake. The proof can be seen in the data. Just compare networks in the US to those in Europe:

Criticizing BEAD

A report from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) highlights some of the problems and issues of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. Sen. Cruz's first criticism of BEAD is that the allocation gives too much funding to places that have good broadband and don’t need the money—like Washington (DC) and Delaware.

Net Neutrality Is Still Needed Despite Its Quiet Hiatus

The debate around “net neutrality” is back, only this time there is even less chance that the matter will be settled for good. Consumers’ online rights still need protection, and restoring them for an open internet is worthwhile. Those pointing to internet service providers’ (ISP) “good behavior” are being disingenuous at best. The 2018 decision to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's earlier net neutrality rule was being challenged in court until 2020, by which point several states had set up or had in motion their own net neutrality regulations in the absence of a federal one.

Google Fiber's Open Letter to State Broadband Leaders on Planning for BEAD and Future Deployment Efforts

Google Fiber is pleased to submit the recommendations below for broadband leaders to consider as they structure their BEAD Five-Year Action Plans and Initial and Final Proposals. Over the past decade, GFiber has launched gigabit-speed internet service in nearly 20 major metropolitan areas, setting a new standard for internet speeds, climbing to the top of industry rankings in customer satisfaction, injecting meaningful competition into a fossilized industry, and driving other providers to upgrade the speeds and service they offer their customers.

New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services

Net neutrality regulations have been dead for years, and they should stay that way. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has moved to reopen and re-litigate the issue. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rule-making that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016. The law has changed and markets have changed, and yet the arguments for and against net neutrality have largely remained the same.

The FCC says net neutrality would be a boon for national security. Some disagree.

When Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled plans to restore net neutrality, she said reinstating the rule would “give the FCC and its national security partners the tools needed to defend our networks from potential security threats.” The rule—which gives the agency broad powers to regulate internet service as a utility, akin to water or electricity—hasn’t historically been invoked fo

European telecommunication groups ask Brussels to make Big Tech pay more for networks

Europe’s biggest telecommunications companies have called on the European Union to compel Big Tech to pay a “fair” contribution for using their networks, the latest stage in a battle for payments that has pitched the sector against companies such as Netflix and Google. Technology companies that “benefit most” from telecommunications infrastructure and drive traffic growth should contribute more to costs, according to the chief executives of 20 groups including BT, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica.

FCC Announces Measures to Strengthen Integrity for Affordable Connectity Program Service

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau took additional measures to ensure that providers are receiving reimbursement from the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) for fully subsidized service only for households using their service, as required by the FCC’s rules.