press release

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) took to the Senate floor to praise the Federal Communications Commission'’s work and transparency while calling on supporters of an open internet to support bipartisan legislation.

More than three dozen senators joined Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) on a letter turging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to abandon his plan to repeal the agency’s net neutrality rules in favor of giving internet providers the ability to freely block or slow down consumers’ access to the internet. “Your plan gives a broadband provider the ability to significantly alter their subscribers’ internet experience,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force (C2HFCC) today announced that the FCC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have joined forces, signing a memorandum of understanding that will focus on how increasing broadband access and adoption in rural areas can improve the lives of rural cancer patients.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) announced that Kim Keenan has resigned from her post as President and CEO. Maurita Coley Flippin, who has served for five years with MMTC as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will serve as Interim President and CEO. Keenan took the helm of the organization from co-founder David Honig in 2014, and her legacy focused on “bringing policy to the people,” reaching out to communities to make complex and esoteric telecom policies relatable, and to bridge the digital divide.

Reps Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing their strong disappointment that the Chairman has failed to provide repeatedly requested documentation related to the alleged May 7 distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. 

Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, and Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced the Tribal Connect Act of 2017 to improve broadband connectivity in Indian Country. The bill would increase access to the Federal Communications Commission's schools and libraries universal service support program, known as E-rate, that provides discounts to assist public schools and libraries obtain high-speed internet access and telecommunications at affordable rates.

The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced their intent to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which the two agencies would coordinate online consumer protection efforts following the adoption of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order.  “The Memorandum of Understanding will be a critical benefit for online consumers because it outlines the robust process by which the FCC and FTC will safeguard the public interest,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Dec 7,  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai held a series of telephone calls with small Internet service providers across the country—from Oklahoma to Ohio, from Montana to Minnesota. They told him how the FCC’s 2015 Title II Order had harmed their businesses and why it is important to them that heavyhanded government regulation of the Internet be eliminated.

More than 30 press freedom, civil liberties and open government groups submitted a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to cancel the scheduled Dec. 14 vote to undermine the open-internet protections put in place in 2015. “You must not abandon Net Neutrality,” the letter to Chairman Pai reads. “The open internet is today our main conduit for expression and information. It is our library, our printing press, our delivery truck and our town square.

America’s broadband providers are 100% committed to a free and open internet and have always practiced net neutrality regardless of government regulations or rules because that is what their customers demand.  Additionally, all of the major providers have announced clear and strong policies ensuring no blocking, no throttling, and no unfair discrimination against lawful traffic online. It’s good business, good practice, and what internet users expect.