WASHINGTON, September 26, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission is planning to seek comment on reinstating net neutrality rules, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced on Tuesday.

Net neutrality rules give the FCC more authority to regulate internet companies by classifying broadband as an essential communications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, including the power to prevent internet providers from adjusting the speed of network traffic to favor certain sites. The agency instated similar rules in 2015 before they were repealed by then-Republican Chairman Ajit Pai in 2017.

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Mirroring the 2015 rules, the proposal – set to be released on Thursday – specifies that when regulating broadband providers under Title II, the commission would pass up 27 of the most onerous provisions in the law and hundreds of agency regulations that typically apply to Title II services like voice calling, Rosenworcel said in the announcement.

Rosenworcel said that internet access is essential to modern life, and needs to be regulated accordingly to ensure fair access.

“No one without it has a fair shot at 21st century success,” she said.

The move comes just one day after Anna Gomez was sworn in as a commissioner, giving Democrats at the FCC a 3-2 majority. The commission has been split since President Joe Biden took office, with his nominee Gigi Sohn withdrawing from consideration in March 2023, citing attacks on her character from lobbyists.

Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr issued a statement before Rosenworcel’s announcement on Tuesday cautioning against moving forward with net neutrality efforts. He cited an analysis by two Barack Obama lawyers, which highlighted the Supreme Court’s application of the “major questions doctrine” in a 2022 case limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate emissions.

Under the doctrine, the court has held in recent years that federal agencies must have explicit authorization from Congress to impose regulations of major economic and political significance. Since the FCC did not receive congressional instruction to categorize broadband as a Title II service, the move is likely to be struck down, the lawyers wrote.

In an effort to codify expanded FCC authority over internet providers, congressional Democrats introduced in July 2022 a bill to explicitly define broadband as a Title II service. It was referred to committees, and no further actions have been taken on them.

The proposal will be a subject of discussion at the FCC’s open meeting on October 19. After its likely approval by the commission’s Democratic majority, the proposed rules will be up for public comment.

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2023 – Experts disagreed on whether the Federal Communications Commission should require more data from internet service providers for broadband “nutrition” labels at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Wednesday.

The broadband nutrition label, as mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, requires broadband providers to display at the point of sale a label that shows prices, introductory rates, speeds, data allowances, and other critical broadband service information. 

The FCC released proposed rules on July 18 that would add additional requirements to the nutrition labels, to which several providers and associations expressed that the additional rules would place undue burden on small providers and would not improve data, said Steve Coran, chair of Lerman Senter’s broadband at the Spectrum and Communications Infrastructure practice group. 

Data requirements as currently outlined by the FCC are balanced, clear and easy and will promote transparency, said Coran. In response to responses from providers, the FCC increased its estimation that the proposed rulemaking would create between 1 and 9 hours of annual burden on providers to a range of 1.5 to 65 hours, he said. 

However, Ryan Johnston, senior policy counsel at municipality public interest nonprofit Next Century Cities, warned that the label requirements will not provide data as comprehensive as is necessary. As currently written, providers are allowed to report the “typical” speeds that each location receives. These ranges provide no certainty and is “more ethereal than the maximum advertised speed,” said Johnston. 

Additionally, the FCC failed to include the measurements that consumers want to see, include more precise pricing models, promotion lengths, and expected bill after promotions are done, said Johnston. He urged the FCC to require providers to report the average speed. 

Joshua Stager, policy director at Free Press, agreed, saying that the core issue for consumers is to address bill shock, referring to the uncertainty around internet bills and the detrimental effect it has on low-income households. For this reason, he urged the FCC to ensure that consumers will be able to access the label. 

Stager said that the FCC declined to require that the label be put on the monthly bill. He warned that providers can hide the label from consumers which will result in a lack of market response simply because consumers are not aware that the label exists. 

Discriminatory pricing in the industry is blatantly obvious, said Sascha Meinrath, Palmer Chair in telecommunications at Penn State University. “The FCC consistently refuses to collect the kind of information that would exonerate ISPs or condemn them,” he stated.  

Sascha Meinrath

He warned that this lack of appropriate data collection will be to the detriment of consumers. He accused the FCC of refusing to act against discriminatory and predatory pricing, claiming that it is a prime example of “American corruption.” 

Meinrath, who assisted in the initial proposal for the nutrition labels, said that the goal of the labels was to provide customers with information on the minimum services they will expect to see. He claimed that the current nutrition labels are insufficient and do not achieve those goals. 

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Wednesday, July 26, 2023 – Broadband Nutrition Labels: Have They Improved?

In late 2022, the Federal Communications Commission required internet service providers to display broadband “nutrition” labels including speeds, service reliability, ACP participation and other relevant metrics at every point of sale. While there is consensus on the need for an informative and consumer-friendly label, some believe the requirements go too far or don’t go far enough. With federal broadband funding making its way to each state and the implementation phase just around the corner, the “nutrition labels” will soon become a reality. What might be the FCC’s next steps? How will the requirements affect broadband providers? How can consumers make sure they order from the right broadband “menu”?

Panelists

• Ryan Johnson, Senior Policy Counsel, Next Century Cities
• Steve Coran, Chair, Lerman Senter’s Broadband, Spectrum and Communications Infrastructure practice group
• Joshua Stager, Policy Director, Free Press
• Sascha Meinrath, Palmer Chair in Telecommunications, Penn State University; Founder, X-Lab
• Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Ryan Johnson is responsible for NCC’s federal policy portfolio, building and maintaining relationships with Federal Commissions Commission officials, members of Congress and staff, and public interest allies. Working with various federal agencies, Ryan submits filings on behalf of NCC members on technology and telecommunications related issues that impact the digital divide such as broadband data mapping, benchmark speeds, spectrum policy, content moderation, privacy, and others.

Steve Coran is chair of Lerman Senter’s Broadband, Spectrum and Communications Infrastructure practice group. He represents broadband providers, private equity firms, equipment and technology companies, and new technology firms, serving their policy, transactional, compliance, and licensing needs. He also actively represents a trade association before the FCC, Congress, and other federal agencies in matters involving spectrum policy, Internet regulation, the Universal Service Fund, and other proceedings affecting wireless broadband service providers and other wireless technology interests.

Joshua Stager is the policy director at Free Press, where he advances policies to close the digital divide, protect consumers, and make the broadband market competitive and affordable. As a public interest advocate and attorney, he works closely with industry, Congress, the FCC and other federal agencies. He previously was deputy director of the Open Technology Institute.

Drew Clark is CEO of Breakfast Media LLC. He has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

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WASHINGTON, June 26, 2023 – Federal Communications Commission nominee Anna Gomez leaned toward a preference for Congress to adopt legislation on net neutrality as the policy takes center stage during a committee hearing on Thursday.

When asked if the FCC should seek direction from Congress before addressing net neutrality, a rule barring service providers from speeding up or throttling internet traffic or giving preference to certain services, Biden-backed nominee Anna Gomez said she would like to “help, if confirmed, with efforts towards legislation.” However, she emphasized that the FCC should still have “robust” oversight over broadband internet.

Her response marks a subtle departure from the commonly held viewpoint among Democrats, including Gigi Sohn, a former FCC nominee also endorsed by President Biden, who unequivocally advocated for the FCC’s progression in rolling back net neutrality.

Responses from other FCC incumbents Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks remain divided along the party line, with Carr supporting more guidance from Congress while Starks said the FCC currently has the authority to proceed with net neutrality.

Since the FCC’s decision to reverse net neutrality in 2017, heated discussions have taken place on whether or not to reinstate the policy. The primary determinant right now is for Congress to place broadband services back under Title II, which would define broadband as “internet service” and give the FCC authority to enforce net neutrality rules.

Many have been advocating for the return of net neutrality, including FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Last year, a group of Democrat senators also introduced the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act to codify net neutrality.