Harper Neidig

A federal appeals court rejected a request to review its decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality regulations. The victory for net neutrality supporters comes just days after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he is starting proceedings to repeal the rules, and could set the stage for a Supreme Court showdown.

In its denial for what's called an en banc review, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals cited FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's plans to repeal the net neutrality rules. "En banc review would be particularly unwarranted at this point in light of the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the FCC’s Order," the decision reads. "The agency will soon consider adopting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would replace the existing rule with a markedly different one." "In that light, the en banc court could find itself examining, and pronouncing on, the validity of a rule that the agency had already slated for replacement."

President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a new technology council to help advise the government on streamlining its IT operations. The American Technology Council will be run by Chris Liddell, an assistant to the president and former CFO of Microsoft. The council will meet with Silicon Valley leaders sometime in June to discuss ideas on modernizing government operations. The council is part of Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner’s White House Office of Innovation, which was established in March to try to streamline government operations.

Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn blasted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for launching an attack on network neutrality.

Commissioner Clyburn said the plan will result in a regulatory oversight vacuum over internet service providers. “They’re willing to dismantle a carefully struck balance that has served us well, and grant the wishes of a handful of broadband providers that soon will have the right to police themselves when it comes to consumer rights,” she said. “The FCC must never take a backseat while the nation’s broadband providers are calling all the shots.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will travel to Capitol Hill on April 28 to brief House members in the wake of his announcement that the FCC will be launching a campaign to dismantle net neutrality. Chairman Pai will hold a bipartisan briefing for the House Commerce Committee.

A group of more than 800 tech startups is urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai not to go forward with his plan to dismantle network neutrality. The coalition — led by tech groups Y Combinator, Techstars and Engine — said it is “deeply concerned” about the reports that Chairman Pai is planning to repeal the FCC’s net neutrality rules, which prohibit internet service providers from favoring or discriminating against web traffic to certain sites.

“Without net neutrality, the incumbents who provide access to the Internet would be able to pick winners or losers in the market,” the letter reads. “They could impede traffic from our services in order to favor their own services or established competitors. Or they could impose new tolls on us, inhibiting consumer choice.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will soon have a committee to advise the agency on promoting diversity in the communications industry, Chairman Ajit Pai announced April 24. “Every American should have the opportunity to participate in the communications marketplace, no matter their race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation,” Chairman Pai said. “This Committee will be charged with providing recommendations to the FCC on empowering all Americans,” Pai added. “For example, the Committee could help the FCC promote diversity in the communications industry by assisting in the establishment of an incubator program and could identify ways to combat digital redlining," the concern that minority or poorer communities are covered by worse telecommunication infrastructure.

The agency will solicit suggestions from the public on who should sit on the panel, which will be called the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment. The FCC has implemented similar initiatives in the past, but they appear to have fizzled out. The agency’s Advisory Committee for Diversity in the Digital Age, for instance, has not had a meeting since 2013.

Major internet service providers spent more than $11 million on lobbying amid fights over privacy rules and a coming showdown over net neutrality. Three of the largest telecom companies — AT&T, Verizon and Comcast — collectively spent a total of $11.2 million during the first three months of the year, according to disclosure forms filed to Congress on Thursday.

Of the three telecom giants, AT&T spent the most during the period, dishing out $4.6 million on lobbying. Its first-quarter spending was the sixth highest among all entities that filed disclosures. Comcast and Verizon spent $3.7 million and $2.9 million respectively. The sum total isn’t especially high for the companies for a three-month period, as they spent slightly more during the first quarter of 2016. The companies all lobbied on a wide variety of issues, and the filings do not break down how much was spent on each topic.

AT&T was among the largest contributors to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, accounting for more than $2 million of the record-breaking $106.7 million haul. The telecommunication behemoth gave $2 million in cash contributions as well as an $82,483 in-kind donation for “mobile equipment/software.” Though the contribution exceeds those of AT&T’s rivals, it still falls short of the $3 million it gave for President Obama’s 2013 inauguration.

Verizon, Charter Communications and Comcast contributed a combined $600,000 to the Trump inaugural committee. And tech companies that showed little support for Trump during the campaign also gave hundreds of thousands to the committee. Google gave $285,000, and Microsoft made a $250,000 cash donation along with a $250,000 in-kind contribution in the form of equipment.

Three members of the Arkansas delegation, Sens Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Boozman (R-AR) and Rep French Hill (R-AR), are asking Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to soften his proposal to deregulate the business data services market.

The lawmakers wrote a letter to Chairman Pai asking that he implement a “reasonable transition period” in the proposed rule so that small businesses can prepare for any price hikes that may result. “A transition period would create a window where all market participants could plan for price increases or the purchase of internet protocol (IP)-enabled equipment, shop for alternative service arrangements, and even solicit build-out proposals from potential market entrants,” the lawmakers wrote. “A reasonable transition would also enable service providers to adapt and remain viable in more markets than will occur in the event of a flash cut to new policies.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is just getting started. Here are five regulations or policies he's working to roll back.

1. Net neutrality: When the FCC adopted its landmark net neutrality rules in 2015, requiring internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, then-Commissioner Pai issued a 67-page statement blasting the order as regulatory overreach that would stifle the internet economy.
2. Business data service: On April 20, the FCC will vote on more deregulation of the market.
3. Lifeline: Chairman Pai was quick to take on the FCC's Lifeline program, which provides broadband subsidies to low-income households.
4. Media ownership limits: FCC commissioners will also be voting on a proposal to undo an Obama-era change to media ownership rules, which made it harder for major TV broadcasters to buy up local stations. Broadcasters are currently limited to serving 39 percent of the country’s households. In August of 2016, the FCC voted to do away with the "UHF discount "— which let broadcasting companies count just half of the audiences of certain channels they owned toward the 39 percent limit. Chairman Pai is now proposing to bring it back, and the proposal is expected to pass.
5. Set-top box reform: Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed reforming the set-top box market, allowing consumers to buy them from third parties and breaking what critics call a cable company monopoly. One of Pai’s first actions as chairman was to withdraw the proposal, prompting an angry response from his predecessor.