Federal

The Federal Communications Commission currently regulates broadband internet access service (BIAS, if you will) as an "information service" under Title I of the Communications Act. As the FCC contemplates reclassifying BIAS as a telecommunications service under Title II's common-carrier framework, the question is whether the FCC has authority to do so. Federal appeals courts have upheld previous FCC decisions on whether to apply common carrier rules to broadband.

The Biden Administration’s broadband policies are failing. The costs for building out Internet infrastructure in this country have skyrocketed thanks to inflationary policies under their watch. The Federal Communications Commission is sitting on spectrum that could connect millions of Americans to new, high-speed services. The Administration has needlessly blocked and delayed new broadband infrastructure builds. Fiber and cell site components are laying fallow in warehouses across the country due to the government’s failure to remove regulatory red tape. Permitting reform has gone nowhere.

Today’s NTIA filing underscores how many government-wide initiatives will be affected by the FCC’s implementation of the digital discrimination mandates in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society shares NTIA’s belief that robust rules that can address the disparate impact of broadband deployment and service offerings will serve the needs of all Americans.

Having studied barriers to Internet use for the last three decades, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is intimately familiar with the longstanding disparities that keep far too many Americans from realizing the full benefits of modern communications and information technologies.

The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board and Idaho Office of Broadband have opened a public comment period on the state’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal (Volumes I and II) for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The state has been working to identify Idaho’s internet needs, challenges and opportunities to develop internet expansion plans. The work is reflected in the state’s draft BEAD Initial Proposal.

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) is now accepting public comment on Volume 1 of Michigan’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal.

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) directs States and Territories to include in their Initial Proposals “a middle-class affordability plan to ensure that all consumers have access to affordable high-speed internet.” ACA Connects believes each State and Territory should provide a rational basis for its plan and justify its methodology.

Puerto Rico’s mountainous geography and experience with natural disasters play a role in the digital divide that leaves too many without the ability to access broadband internet. Widespread damage to the island’s existing telecommunications infrastructure as a result of recent natural disasters—such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Hurricane Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic—highlighted the importance of reliable and affordable broadband access, particularly for remote work, online learning, telehealth services, and connecting with the government.

Currently, no federal agency can effectively monitor or address broadband outages that threaten jobs, education, and public safety. And while the Federal Communications Commission has acted on a bipartisan basis to secure our communications networks against companies controlled by hostile foreign governments, the lack of specific authority over broadband leaves open a national security loophole.