Crafting a Grand Bargain Alternative to Title II: Network Neutrality With Net Adoption

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation believes Title II classification is a poor long-term solution to preserving the open Internet, not the unalloyed win some proponents claim. This report argues that both political parties and the various camps involved in the net neutrality and digital divide debates should seize the moment by coming together to support legislation that does several things:

• Clarifies that broadband Internet access service is not a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act;
• Puts widely agreed-upon open Internet protections, including no-blocking, no-throttling, and transparency, on firmer legal ground;
• Allows pro-competitive traffic differentiation for applications that require it, while preventing anticompetitive abuses of prioritization;
• Gives the Federal Communications Commission reasonable, but bounded, jurisdiction to enforce open Internet rules and accelerate deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities; and
• Significantly expands the scope and funding of digital literacy and broadband adoption programs such as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Adoption Toolkit, the administration’s ConnectHome initiative, a broadband-focused Lifeline program contemplated by the FCC, and initiatives to build out broadband in rural areas with no wired infrastructure.