Industries Revive Familiar Arguments After Net Neutrality Announcement
Telecoms oppose the measure, while major software companies side with the FCC.
Jake Neenan
WASHINGTON, September 27, 2023 – The telecom and software industries returned to familiar arguments in reaction to the Federal Communications Commission’s announcement that it is looking to revive net neutrality rules.
The draft proposal would classify broadband as a Title II service under the Telecommunications Act of 1934, giving the commission more regulatory muscle over the industry – particularly ensuring internet providers cannot throttle or speed up traffic to certain sites. The FCC made the same change in 2015, but it was repealed by Trump-appointed chairman Ajit Pai just two years later.
Telecom and internet companies have argued this would be an excessive burden that stifles innovation and increases deployment costs. Tuesday was no different, with NCTA – The Internet and Television Association, a trade group representing cable and internet providers like Comcast and Charter, issuing a statement in opposition.
The rules would “complicate the calculus of deploying networks in expensive, risky, and hard-to-serve markets,” the statement read.
Internet companies have also argued net neutrality is simply unnecessary, citing a lack of widespread throttling after the rules were repealed in 2017, although studies found it did occur on some services like Youtube and Netflix.
FCC Chairwoman Jessia Rosenworcel, speaking at an Axios event on Wednesday, chalked up the relatively unchanged consumer experience to a patchwork of state laws that sprang up after the commission repealed its rules
“The truth is, we’re living in a world with open internet policies in place,” she said. “But they’re coming from state capitals.”
Software companies also tread familiar ground. In a 2018 brief to the D.C. Appeals Court, the Computer & Communications Industry Association – another trade group representing major software companies like Google and Meta – argued against the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality rules, citing investment booms in cloud-based and streaming services resulting from mandatory equal accessibility.
“Reinstating those protections will ensure that America’s digital economy is inclusive, open, and stable,” the group’s chief of staff Stephanie Joyce said in a statement on Tuesday.
The draft rules will be up for public comment if approved by a vote of FCC commissioners on October 19.
