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FCC Takes 'Great Step' Toward Restoring Net Neutrality Rules
One expert called the move "a no-brainer to the millions of Americans who want the FCC to work to ensure that all of us are connected to quality, affordable, open, and secure broadband networks."
Oct 19, 2023
Open internet advocates applauded on Thursday as Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission voted to begin reestablishing FCC oversight of broadband and reviving net neutrality rules rolled back under former President Donald Trump.
"Today's vote is an important start to restoring internet freedom and openness," said Public Knowledge president and CEO Chris Lewis. "Over the next few months, the FCC and the public at large will have an opportunity to look carefully at the benefits of having broadband included in the communications networks that fall under FCC authority."
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced her plan to ensure broadband is treated as a public utility last month. Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks on Thursday joined her in voting for the related notice of proposed rulemaking, which was opposed by Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington.
"The notice of proposed rulemaking adopted today seeks comment on classifying fixed and mobile broadband internet service as an essential 'telecommunications' service under Title II of the Communications Act," the FCC explained. "The proposal also seeks to restore clear, nationwide open internet rules that would prevent internet service providers [ISPs] from blocking legal content, throttling speeds, and creating fast lanes that favor those who can pay for access."
Lewis asserted that "this commonsense classification is a no-brainer to the millions of Americans who want the FCC to work to ensure that all of us are connected to quality, affordable, open, and secure broadband networks."
The FCC previously voted in favor of net neutrality rules in 2015, under former President Barack Obama. Those regulations were rolled back in 2017, when the FCC was led by Ajit Pai—a former telecom industry lawyer and an appointee of Trump, the GOP's 2024 presidential front-runner.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to restore net neutrality rules. However, such efforts were stalled by a divided commission—until the U.S. Senate finally confirmed Gomez to a long-vacant seat early last month.
"When Trump's FCC Chair Ajit Pai led the repeal of net neutrality and rolled back Title II classification for broadband access, it was a huge win for the telecom industry and its executives," Demand Progress communications director Maria Langholz said Thursday. "We applaud the FCC for not giving up this fight in the face of the seemingly endless effort by corporate giants and their lobbyists to block commonsense and broadly popular open internet protections."
"By restoring Title II oversight, the FCC can prevent net neutrality violations at the hands of powerful ISPs, as well as expand affordable broadband access and stop dangerous privacy abuses," she continued. "Given the widespread public support for these reforms, it's vital the FCC continue to move decisively toward reinstating strong Title II protections, and that members of Congress stand with their constituents by publicly supporting this effort."
Free Press co-CEO Jessica J. González similarly stressed that "Pai ignored the overwhelming public consensus" with the rollback and "people across the country are demanding these open internet safeguards, which will allow the FCC to ensure that everyone in the United States—no matter their location, political persuasion, race or income—has affordable, reliable, and safe internet connections free from discrimination, blocking, or other ISP manipulation."
"In a last-ditch attempt to win over public opinion, these companies are bankrolling a disinformation campaign designed to paint the agency's popular Obama-era rules as bad for business and the American way," she noted. "But no amount of lies from the broadband industry and their congressional allies will change the fact that we need a watchdog protecting internet users' interests and defending their right to an open and affordable internet."
"Broadband providers and their spin doctors are deeply out of touch with people across the country who are fed up with high prices and poor customer service," González argued. "We need a referee on the field to call fouls and issue penalties when broadband companies are being unfair."
Lewis emphasized that "now is the time for the public to take action," and pledged that Public Knowledge will be "filing detailed comments in the record on behalf of the public interest in the coming months."
"Many commenters have focused only on net neutrality protections, however, there are many important protections that Title II authority brings on behalf of the public, from network reliability, outage, and public safety standards, to looking at the important values of universal service, privacy, and competition and fair pricing," he said. "We are already creating resources for those who are unfamiliar with the many benefits of placing broadband under FCC authority."
"We encourage all members of the public to make their voice heard at the FCC and in Congress where legislators are watching closely," he added. "Your senators and representatives need to know that you support FCC authority over broadband to protect open, secure, and affordable broadband access."
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Progressives Applaud Senate Confirmation of Anna Gomez to FCC
"We've waited for far too long for a fully functional FCC, and there's so much crucial work before the agency," said Jessica González of Free Press Action.
Sep 07, 2023
After nearly 1,000 days without a full panel of commissioners at the nation's top telecommunications regulator, the U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed State Department policy adviser Anna Gomez to join the Federal Communications Commission.
Progressives expressed hope that the end of the deadlock will allow the FCC to swiftly reinstate net neutrality rules, end "digital redlining" by internet service providers (ISPs) that provide low-income communities with slower service for the same rates as wealthier customers, and take other steps to regulate the telecom industry fairly.
"We applaud the Senate for confirming Anna Gomez today, filling the final seat on the commission that's necessary to take action to restore net neutrality," said Maria Langholz, communications director for Demand Progress, referring to the Obama-era rules that kept ISPs from creating internet "fast lanes" for companies that could afford them and throttling other content. "Anna Gomez is eminently qualified to serve in this role, and will bring immense expertise."
As Common Dreams reported in May when Gomez was nominated, the communications policy adviser has previously worked at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, whose work addresses broadband and internet policy, in addition to lobbying work within the telecom industry.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said he was "proud" to have voted for Gomez, who he said will join a "Democratic majority that will make critical progress on the communications challenges communities across the country face."
"The challenges we face are too great for the FCC to face alone. We need laws on the books that empower regulators and protect consumers," said Markey. "I look forward to partnering with Chairwoman [Jessica] Rosenworcel, Commissioner [Geoffrey] Starks, and Ms. Gomez in our shared fight to undo the damage of the Trump-era FCC by restoring net neutrality protections and protecting consumers from another Republican assault on the free and open internet."
Gomez was confirmed six months after longtime consumer advocate Gigi Sohn withdrew her nomination for the commissioner seat following a smear campaign by telecom industry lobbyists and dark money groups which accused her of being insufficiently committed to expanding broadband in rural areas, among other claims.
After a deadlock that was the result of "concerted efforts by the phone, cable, and broadcast lobbies to hamstring the agency that oversees their businesses," said public interest group Free Press Action, "Gomez's confirmation restores the agency's full complement of commissioners and provides a tie-breaking vote on issues related to diversifying media ownership, promoting broadband affordability, and protecting the rights of internet users."
The group said Starks, who was renominated by President Joe Biden in May, must also be reconfirmed by the Senate by the end of the year or he'll be required to step down.
"We've waited for far too long for a fully functional FCC, and there's so much crucial work before the agency," said Jessica González, co-CEO of Free Press Action. "With Gomez now seated, the agency must start the process of reinstating its authority over broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. It must also complete its work to prevent digital discrimination and ensure that everyone in the United States has reliable and affordable broadband."
"The FCC has a mandate to increase the diversity of local media ownership and to ensure that broadband access is affordable, open, and reliable for all," she added. "We need all five FCC commissioners to get to work as soon as possible to achieve these laudable goals."
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To Return FCC to 'Full Strength,' Progressives Call for Swift Confirmation of Anna Gomez
"The FCC has a mandate to increase the diversity of local-media ownership and to ensure broadband access is affordable, open and reliable for all," said one advocate. "We need all five FCC commissioners as soon as possible to fully move this work forward."
May 22, 2023
Eager to end more than two years of deadlock at the Federal Communications Commission, digital rights advocates on Monday expressed relief at U.S. President Joe Biden nomination of former FCC legal adviser Anna Gomez and called on the U.S. Senate to confirm her appointment as quickly as possible.
"Finally!" tweeted media and technology advocacy group Free Press when the nomination was announced. "The agency has been deadlocked since January 2021 and this delay has harmed millions of people."
Gomez currently serves as a senior adviser for international information and communications policy at the State Department and worked for more than a decade at the FCC as a senior legal adviser to then-Chairman William Kennard.
She also worked in leadership roles at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, whose work addresses broadband and internet policy.
The American Prospect's David Dayen noted that he recently wrote about Gomez's career, detailing her work within the telecom industry—which the FCC regulates—as well as her work in government.
"Gomez has plenty in her background to interest industry," wrote Dayen. "She was the vice president of government affairs (a nice term for lobbyist) at Sprint Nextel. She was an associate early in her career at corporate law firm Arnold & Porter, and more recently she spent several years as a partner at Wiley Rein, the biggest and most influential law firm that represents clients at the FCC."
Communications on unmanned aerial systems, or drones, were a large focus of her work at Wiley Rein, Dayen reported.
Gomez's nomination comes two months after longtime public advocate Gigi Sohn withdrew her nomination, which had been championed by progressives, after months of attacks by the telecom lobby.
More than 60 digital rights groups wrote to Biden after Sohn's withdrawal, calling for another nominee who would fight forcefully at the commission for net neutrality rules, the rights of low-income and rural communities, and privacy rights.
"We're now approaching two-and-a-half years without a fully functional Federal Communications Commission. Never before has the American public had to wait so long for a commissioner's seat to be filled," Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of Free Press, which signed the letter, said on Monday after Gomez's nomination was announced. "In addition to her corporate experience—which has often entailed working for competitive carriers instead of incumbents—Gomez has a long track record of public service, including high-ranking positions at the FCC and Commerce Department. She is eminently qualified for this role at the FCC."
Dayen noted that some of Gomez's positions on communications issues have not been publicized, including her views on congressional rules that punish internet service providers (ISPs) for underinvestment in low-income communities and on net neutrality rules, which prevent ISPs from creating internet "fast lanes" for companies that can pay for them and throttling other content by slowing down speeds.
"We expect Gomez to help restore the proper legal framework for broadband and the net neutrality protections that the FCC repealed during the Trump administration," said Gonzalez. "In poll after poll, people in the United States of all political stripes say they want enforceable rules for an open internet. We're confident that Gomez will give weight to this overwhelming public support and be responsive to public input on the full range of issues before the agency."
The 2-2 deadlock at the FCC has made it impossible for the commission to stop ISPs from "digitally redlining" low-income communities with slower service for the same rates as wealthier customers, as Common Cause said last October, and to restore net neutrality rules.
"The FCC has a mandate to increase the diversity of local-media ownership and to ensure broadband access is affordable, open and reliable for all," said Gonzalez. "We need all five FCC commissioners as soon as possible to fully move this work forward."
"Any further delay means big companies will have an easier time engaging in unjust, unreasonable, and discriminatory actions, because they know this vital watchdog agency isn't operating with the majority it needs," she added. "If these leaders want to improve the lives of internet users, cellphone customers, TV watchers, and radio listeners—meaning everyone—they need to speed up confirmation before the clock runs out at the FCC."
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'300,000 and Counting': Diverse Coalition Condemns Mega Cable Merger
Attempt by Charter Communications to purchase Time Warner Cable and Bright House has been met with fierce opposition, as a coalition of public interest groups delivers 300,000 comments to the FCC
Feb 18, 2016
As Charter Communications, the fourth largest cable company in the U.S. continues to pursue its $80 billion takeover of fellow cable giants Time Warner Cable and Bright House, on Thursday, a coalition of media justice, Internet rights, and public interest groups delivered to the FCC over 300,000 comments in opposition to the merger.
If the merger succeeds, the new entity would be second in size only to Comcast and, together with Comcast, would control nearly two-thirds of the nation's highspeed internet subscriptions. Critics of such a scenario argue that this would give the media behemoths too much power in the already relatively noncompetitive broadband and cable markets and would disproportionately hurt poor communities and people of color.
"This merger should be rejected -- we need more options for affordable and open access to communications, not fewer." -- Michael Scurato, National Hispanic Media Coalition
Charter Communications is "already swimming in debt," writes Dana Floberg of Free Press in an op-ed at The Hill. If the merger goes through, it will take on $27 billion in new debt, saddling the new company "with a whopping $66 billion in debt," Floberg adds. Critics contend that this massive debt would be shouldered not by investors or the executives behind the merger but by individual cable customers. The debt will add up to about $1,142 per customer, says Michael Copps, a former commissioner and acting chairman of the FCC who now serves as an advisor to Free Press.
"Charter has told investors it would exercise its expanded market power to pay off massive merger-related debt, which means substantial price increases are likely," Free Press argues in its petition for the FCC to reject the merger. While costs are likely to increase to cover that debt, critics say that with such a large share of the market -- in many places, the new company would be the only option for broadband service -- the company would have little incentive to provide good, fast and efficient service to customers.
"The proposed Charter-Time Warner Cable merger represents the kind of noxious corporate takeover Demand Progress members and the public have continually spoken out against. It's a deal between powerful, entrenched interests that would lead to bigger profits for 'New Charter' and higher prices for customers while diminishing competition and consumer choice," says David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress.
Free Press also argues that the merger would exacerbate the digital divide -- further limiting internet access in impoverished communities.
"A merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable is a bad deal for diverse communities in America," says Michael Scurato, vice president of policy at the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "Charter has not demonstrated that it is committed to hiring a workforce that reflects the communities they seek to serve, carrying culturally relevant programming for their diverse audience or fully participating in existing programs, like Lifeline, that could soon help bring communities of color online. This merger should be rejected -- we need more options for affordable and open access to communications, not fewer."
"Allowing a corporation like Charter to become one of the few gatekeepers to the Internet will undoubtedly harm how those voices are heard, if they're heard at all." -- Steven Renderos, Center for Media Justice
Critics also argue that one company holding such an enormous market share would inevitably stifle innovations in cable programming and streaming services. The New York Times writes that U.S. antitrust officials have been analyzing "whether bigger cable firms -- with strong bargaining power with programmers and fast-growing broadband Internet businesses -- could harm their newest threat: streaming video providers like Netflix and Hulu."
As Floberg explains, "With monopoly-style market power, it could raise prices on captive customers and protect its existing cable-TV model by thwarting competition from online video services. There's hardly any competition in the broadband market as it is. Many customers won't have the option to take their business elsewhere should Charter start hiking rates and abusing its gatekeeper power."
Another coalition of media and telecommunications businesses and labor and public interest groups, including Dish Network, Fairpoint Communications, and the Rural Broadband Association, among others, have formed to oppose the merger, and central to their opposition is the potential for the merger to threaten independent programming. The Stop Mega Cable coalition warns of the new company's power to "[f]orce independent and diverse voices to accept below-market terms, thus jeopardizing their viability."
Copps has noted that it is already difficult for independent programs and new, diverse voices to gain a foothold in a market controlled by only a handful of large cable companies. If only two corporations were to dominate two-thirds of the nation's access to cable TV, it would be that much more difficult for those voices to make their way to the national stage.
Such a merger also has the potential to inhibit the size and presence of independent voices online, notes Center for Media Justice senior campaign manager Steven Renderos. "The Internet has been a space for unique and diverse voices to be heard," argues Renderos. "Allowing a corporation like Charter to become one of the few gatekeepers to the Internet will undoubtedly harm how those voices are heard if they're heard at all."
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404 Error: Why Internet Access is Still a Problem for Many in Poverty
Aug 10, 2015
When President Obama recently announced the ConnectHome initiative in the auditorium of Oklahoma's Durant High School, he again stated that the Internet is a necessity, not a luxury.
No kidding, Mr. President.
This isn't news to anyone. For most people, the Internet is key to basic life functions: correspondence; applications for jobs, college, and benefits; Facebook stalking your friends' friends' friends, expressing yourself with 90's TV show gifs; and participating in the oh-so-enlightened conversations occurring on message boards everywhere.
Although I jest, lack of Internet access is a serious barrier for many low-income families, and its consequences are very real: students who have broadband at home achieve higher graduation rates than those who do not; high-speed Internet access is strongly associated with greater economic development for communities; and the Internet is a critical prerequisite for accessing a huge proportion of job applications. I spent the past year studying how these folks use public computing resources in Chicago, and I can tell you that having access at home, work, school, or a public center changes what opportunities are available to you.
But none of this matters because everyone has smartphones now, right? Problem solved. Except that you can't write essays, craft a resume, do your taxes, or animate, analyze, and code anything worthwhile on your phone. And sure enough, the effects of these limitations show that mobile-only Internet users have lower digital skill levels than people with access to desktops.
Although the proportion of people who do not have Internet in some capacity at home or work has been reduced to an all-time low, the consequences for those who remain excluded have multiplied because the vast majority of institutions provide services in a way that assumes online access. This is terrible news for the quarter of Americans who don't have decent broadband at home.
All this being said, the ConnectHome initiative, while great for the 275,000 families it serves, won't even make a dent in the approximately 95 million people who need it. If we're going to have a national conversation about digital skills and Internet access, then let's recognize that while ConnectHome and mobile Internet access play important roles in filling the critical gaps in services for our most vulnerable families, the overwhelming need for Internet, devices, support, and training in underserved communities requires a broader strategy.
We've been here before: policymakers did attempt to address these digital disparities in the Recovery Act after the 2008 recession. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) invested $4.7 billion dollars in broadband access and adoption, including $201 million in Public Computer Center grants to fund 3,500 new and upgraded public computer centers nationwide.
For many communities, these types of public computer labs are where low-income individuals who lack the Internet go to get the technology and training they need. Labs are located in public housing, senior centers, schools, health clinics, community technology centers, and public libraries. Despite the massive cuts many systems have faced, these are the real MVPs of Internet access in America.
These public computer centers are heavily relied upon: for example, my research suggests that half of their 80,000 weekly users in Chicago--more than one-third of whom have incomes of under $10,000--use public computer centers daily. The most recent available data clocked the average wait time in about two-thirds of Chicago Public Libraries to more than three hours. And that's a problem for users, especially low-income households, who don't have time to access basic services. Centers and their support staff are doing so much more than providing Internet and computers: they're teachers, curators of learning resources, amateur social service referrers, homework helpers, and job search coaches.
The value of public computer centers goes beyond technology itself. For teenage users in Chicago, 88 percent reported that they performed better in school through center use, and one-third reported that the computer centers made them feel safer because they were off the streets. For Chicago adult users, 58 percent were looking for jobs, and 37 percent of all respondents said the Chicago centers had helped them find a job due in part to staff assistance.
These centers suffered a huge setback when BTOP's funding ended in 2013. Without a dedicated funding source, every budget year is a battle to prevent cuts or underfunding. And, when we fail to invest in libraries and public computer centers, they are forced to cut staff and training programs or close altogether. Until the next generation of wireless provision produces better, cheaper alternatives, it's critical that we financially support these libraries and public computer centers on a far broader scale than ConnectHome.
It's time to seriously and creatively consider how to fund systemic, sustainable changes that will connect low-income households to the resources they need in every community.
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Arguing for Faster Internet, Obama Goes to Bat for Municipal Broadband
President says "enough is enough" when it comes to the large telecom companies blocking cities from starting their own, locally-controlled networks
Jan 15, 2015
In what advocates of locally-owned and operated broadband networks are calling "a great moment for the principle of local self-reliance," President Obama has announced his intention to fight back against efforts by the telecommunications industry to block the building or improvement of municipal internet networks.
"These prohibitions on municipal broadband were passed lightning-fast through state legislatures with tons of AT&T and cable company money behind them and they are blatantly anti-public." --Holmes Wilson, Fight for the FutureCiting places like Cedar Falls in Iowa, Tennessee's Chattanooga, and Lafayette, Louisiana--cities "which have Internet speeds nearly 100 times faster than the national average and deliver it at an affordable price"--Obama said it is time to end corporate opposition to the initiatives that have made such powerful and more democratically-controlled networks possible.
"In too many places across America, some big companies are doing everything they can to keep out competitors," Obama said in a video statement. "Today I am saying we are going to change that. Enough is enough."
Watch:
President Obama is Going to Help Make Your Internet Faster! Upworthy ExclusiveUpworthy Exclusive: President Obama previews the new plan to bring faster broadband access to communities across the country ...
Alongside his announcement, the White House presented a fact sheet outlining the municipal broadband initiative and a new report (pdf) authored by the National Economic Council and Council of Economic Advisers which examines the success stories of "community-based broadband" projects. As part of the administration's effort, a specific focus will be placed on making it easier for municipalities that want to build their own networks to do so. According to the fact sheet:
Laws in 19 states -- some specifically written by special interests trying to stifle new competitors -- have held back broadband access and, with it, economic opportunity. Today, President Obama is announcing a new effort to support local choice in broadband, formally opposing measures that limit the range of options available to communities to spur expanded local broadband infrastructure, including ownership of networks. As a first step, the Administration is filing a letter with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging it to join this effort by addressing barriers inhibiting local communities from responding to the broadband needs of their citizens.
Rebecca Toewes, a communication specialist with the Institute for Local-Self Reliance (ILSR), which has been among the nation's strongest advocates of municipal broadband, reacted with welcome surprise to the president's announcement and called it "a great moment for the principle of local self-reliance." In a post on the Community Broadband Networks website, an ISLR project which focuses on the issue, Toewes wrote:
When we started to hear rumors that the White House was investigating community owned networks, we were excited but not sure what to expect. I have to admit that seeing President Obama - the President of the United States - saying that Cedar Falls was smart to invest in themselves was much more powerful than I ever expected.
The efforts of so many people to legitimize community networks are now paying off. Belittled by the big cable companies and their paid experts, we certainly were not destined to reach this point. But we are here - and everyone now recognizes that local governments can play an important role in ensuring we all have great Internet access.
In an interview with Guardian, Holmes Wilson, co-director of the nonprofit digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, said Obama's broadband rollout is a "a wonderful and obvious step" towards a better internet for U.S. residents.
"These prohibitions on municipal broadband were passed lightning-fast through state legislatures with tons of AT&T and cable company money behind them and they are blatantly anti-public," Wilson said. "If the town wants to get together and try to do better than the local internet provider, why on earth would you want to stop that?"
Curious about what a "municipal broadband network" is or why they are seen as so important by some? This video, produced by the 'Decide Locally' campaign, explains:
Community Broadband NetworksWondering why some communities have decided to build their own networks, sometimes in competition with massive cable and ...
The Guardian adds:
Along with this proposal, Obama is calling for a removal of all "unnecessary regulatory and policy barriers to broadband build-out," according to a White House outline. A coalition of government agencies would attempt to speed up the implementation of these programs, though how much power such an entity would actually have is unclear.
Obama is also calling for a national broadband summit in June, where community leaders would discuss the best practices for enabling fast broadband in cities. But a looming vote on net neutrality rules expected in late February could change that discussion. In early November, Obama announced that he strongly opposed efforts by telecoms companies to get online "fast lanes" for customers that pay more for internet. FCC watchers expect a vote to fall somewhere between, in an effort to keep telecom lobbyists at bay while offering an olive branch to open-internet advocates
"We desperately need a net neutrality rule that says: if you are an internet provider, you have to treat all content equally," said Fight for the Future's Wilson. "Otherwise we are going to get local internet providers, local monopolies, using their market power to distort what people can do and say online and extract more money from customers."
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