Policy Experts Note Importance of FCC Regulatory Authority

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 4, 2024 - Legal experts met Friday for a panel discussion to provide updates on federal broadband issues, including pending litigation. Some panelists stressed the importance of the Federal Communications Commission having regulatory authority in expanding broadband access.

“We need Congress to make sure the FCC has adequate authority,” said Senior Counselor at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society Andrew Schwartzman during the panel, which also included HWG Law partner Jason Neal.

The officials were speaking at the annual AnchorNets conference (Oct. 2-4) in Arlington, Va., hosted by the Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition. The panel moderator was Reg Leichty, founder and partner at Foresight Law.

The panel touched on the demise of the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program as a prime example of the need for FCC regulatory authority in the face of congressional inaction, noting the strong bipartisan support for the extension of broadband connectivity.

“Congress is dysfunctional,” said Wilkinson Barker Knauer Partner Travis Litman. “There is an interest on a bipartisan basis to advance universal service.”

The panel noted Fifth Circuit Court challenges to the $8.1 billion Universal Service Fund as evidence of the need for greater FCC authority, arguing that an unconstitutional ruling would have negative consequences for the ability of the FCC to expand affordable, high-speed broadband access.