Broadband Groups Decry Impact of FCC Digital Discrimination Rules on Rural Providers

America’s Communications Association (ACA Connects), the Rural Broadband Association (NTCA), and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) issued a joint statement to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to exclude smaller and rural broadband providers from its new digital discrimination rules, citing a lack of evidence they engage in discrimination where they build and calling into question the FCC’s legal authority to impose the rules. The organizations argued that the digital discrimination rules would impose an undue burden on rural providers. They claim that there has been no evidence presented against rural broadband providers suggesting they engage in discriminatory practices. Smaller and rural broadband providers would be forced to undertake new burdens in addition to “the new broadband label and data breach reporting obligations the Commission has recently imposed,” the organizations write, adding the FCC should delay enforcing the rules on rural providers until the agency conducts a “test period” to see whether the rules are effective.