Advocacy Groups Support Rosenworcel’s Bulk Billing Ban

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2024 – More than 30 advocacy groups have come together to voice their support for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's controversial plan to ban bulk billing in apartment buildings and other multiple dwelling facilities.

Rosenworcel wants to allow tenants to opt out of bulk billing contracts for internet and other communications, saying it would promote choice and competition. But bulk billing defenders insist that the ability to opt-out would destroy the business model.

“For the many tenants trapped with high-cost or less-capable internet that does not meet their needs, an opt out option provides a vital escape,” said the non-profit interest group Public Knowledge in a July 31 letter to the FCC.

The letter was also spearheaded by the American Economic Liberties Project and signed by social justice advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Economic Justice.

The letter claimed that bulk billing arrangements in multi-tenant environments sacrificed consumer choices and led to internet service provider monopolies.

The Bulk Broadband Alliance, a newly formed coalition that includes ISPs that serve apartment complexes and other residential communities, issued a statement Thursday saying the the public interest groups offered "unsubstantiated claims" and urged the FCC "to withdraw its proposal to regulate bulk billing, thus ensuring more affordable, high-quality broadband for American consumers and continued progress in closing the digital divide.”

Rosenworcel’s proposal unveiled in March would give tenants the ability to opt-out of multi-tenant deals struck between property owners and internet service providers.

Her rules were designed to give tenants greater consumer choice, but many critics have warned that the opt-out right will undermine the economic advantage of bulk arrangements.  

However, the letter pushed back against these predictions, stating that the opt-out option would only be resorted to if the tenant felt the ISP was providing significantly poor service.

“Tenants are unlikely to opt out unless the in-building service is significantly inferior to service otherwise available, or the same service is available at a significantly lower cost,” the letter said.

The letter encouraged the commission to continue with the proposal and use public input to address any additional concerns.

“The best way to determine whether bulk billing does more harm or more good, or other questions as to whether allowing opt out better serves the public by offering more competition, is to move forward with the item,” the letter said.