Network Neutrality

In its 2020 Broadband Pricing Index (BPI) Report, USTelecom shows decreasing cost and increasing value of broadband service in the United States. USTelecom entered the research into open Federal Communications Commission proceedings refreshing the record on Lifeline and network neutrality in light of the DC Circuit’s Mozilla Decision.

If Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden gets elected, policy experts expect him to choose a new Federal Communications Commission. The term of the current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai does not end until Jan 2023, but FCC chairmen typically exit the commission before a new president takes office.

The tech world will be holding its breath to see whether President Donald Trump can pull out a victory.

California filed a brief in the lawsuit by the United States and Internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast that seeks to overturn California’s net neutrality law.

Top House Democrats outlined aspirations to tackle broadband issues in 2021 under what they hope is President Joe Biden. “I promise you all we will restore net neutrality and make our broadband networks more competitive,” said Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), who chairs the House telecom subcommittee and envisions continuing to do so. If President Donald Trump wins re-election, the digital divide will widen, Chairman Doyle added.

The European Union's highest court has given its support to the bloc's rules that stop internet providers from charging customers for preferential access to their networks. The European Court of Justice issued its first interpretation of the EU's net neutrality rules since they were adopted in 2015. The court backed the principle of an open internet after Hungarian wireless carrier Telenor Magyarorszag had sought an interpretation of the rules.

In their platform, the Democratic Party specifies that the Federal Communications Commission should retain network neutrality as a policy and hold internet service providers accountable. It also pledges to invest “in broadband and 5G technology, including rural and municipal broadband.” The 2016 Republican Party platform, which was extended to include this election cycle, aims “to encourage the sharing economy and on-demand platforms to compete in an open market.” The party wants to make sure that the internet continues to advance through competition-driven innovation. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai touted inaccurate broadband-availability data in order to claim that his deregulatory agenda sped up deployment despite clear warning signs that the FCC was relying on false information.

I’ve been asked to speak briefly about our experiences dealing with the pandemic in the United States, and some of the lessons we might be able to apply to unexpected events in the future. When it comes to America’s communications networks, the top headline is that they have performed extremely well during the COVID-19 pandemic. As one would expect, we saw significant increases in voice and Internet traffic as our lives and the economy moved online due to the pandemic. Our wired and wireless networks handled this surge without any significant service disruptions or declines.

The Trump Administration and broadband industry are resuming their fight against California's network neutrality law, with the Department of Justice and Internet service provider lobby groups filing new complaints against the state Aug 5. The case is nearly two years old but was put on hold because California in Oct 2018 agreed to suspend enforcement of its law until after litigation over the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of US net neutrality rules and the FCC's attempt to preempt state net neutrality laws.