Cable Group Wants FCC to Preempt State Broadband Rate Laws, Local Permitting Rules

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2025 – A cable industry group is going to ask the Federal Communications Commission to step in and preempt state broadband affordability laws.

ACA Connects, which represents smaller cable ISPs, told reporters in a Wednesday press briefing that it would seek the change as part of the agency’s inquiry into state and local rules it could block to promote wireline broadband deployment. Under the Communications Act, the agency can preempt state and local laws that effectively prohibit the deployment of telecom infrastructure.

“Because rate regulations effectively prohibit telecommunications services, the FCC should adopt a rebuttable presumption that State broadband rate regulation violates Section 253” of the Communications Act, the group said in a document summarizing its requests. ACA is also asking for reforms on permitting timelines and fees, similar to policies the FCC instituted in 2018 for small wireless cells.

The group pointed to New York’s Affordable Broadband Act, which caps monthly broadband prices for low-income households at $20, with some exceptions, as something they would like to see blocked by the FCC. ACA and other broadband industry groups sued to block the law when it was introduced, but it ultimately went into effect in January. 

Even $30 monthly price cap can impact deployment, ACA said

Hurley pointed to a study ACA produced with consulting firm Cartesian that found even “relatively modest” $30 monthly price caps have a material impact on network deployments.

The agency’s notice of inquiry “asks, ‘are there other requirements out there that are inhibiting, or could inhibit, deployment of broadband?’ And broadband price regulation is a prime example of such a requirement,” Brian Hurley, ACA’s senior vice president of legal and regulatory affairs, said Wednesday.

Comments in the docket are due Monday, and ACA said it was planning on submitting their filing then, assuming the government had reopened. The shutdown had pushed some FCC filing deadlines because many staff members were furloughed. 

Late Wednesday night, President Donald Trump signed legislation reopening the government after a record 43-day shutdown, at least through January.

The Trump administration is on the same page as the broadband industry with respect to state affordability laws. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is managing a $42.45 billion broadband expansion subsidy, has said states will have to exempt grant recipients from broadband price regulations like the New York’s. 

California legislators dropped an effort to pass a law similar to New York’s after being told about the exemption.

Shotclocks, fee restrictions

Hurley said a mechanism to enforce the new preemptions ACA is looking for will be just as important as any new rules the FCC issues. He said something similar to the agency’s task force for adjudicating pole attachment disputes would be a good starting point.

“The really important thing,” he said, would be the ability to get the FCC’s attention quickly and “address the dispute in a timely way, without having to go through a process that takes, you know, months dragging into years. That kind of defeats the purpose of seeking relief in the first place.”

ACA is also looking for shotclocks to speed up processing times for state and local permits, and more restrictions on the types and amounts of fees permitting agencies can charge.

Requests to gain access to a right-of-way sometimes “just sit for months and months with no response,” and certain permitting fees can be “hidden or unpredictable,” Hurley said. “That makes it difficult, if not impossible, for members to plan their deployments.”

Hurley said ACA had been in touch with NCTA, the larger cable trade group, and expected other trade associations to file “robust comments” pointing to rules they’d like to see the FCC axe. 

He added that the group expected local governments to file comments challenging the scope of the FCC’s authority on the issue. Local governments had opposed the small cell order, and some have complained to the FCC in recent months that industry groups level vague accusations against them in an effort to curtail their authority.

“We’ve kind of already seen a preview of some of the arguments they’re likely to make,” Hurley said.