Regulatory classification

As the Federal Communications Commission reinstates Title II regulation, the definition of broadband defines what is and isn’t directly regulated. In the Order that reinstated Title II regulation, the FCC notes that it continues “to define 'broadband Internet access service' as a mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all Internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the communications service, but excluding dial-up Internet access service.” It

On May 7, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission released a Declaratory Ruling reclassifying “broadband Internet access service” (BIAS) as a “telecommunications service” subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC under Title II of the Communications Act. It was accompanied by an Order removing BIAS from most Title II regulations and a Report and Order applying a set of Open Internet rules to BIAS providers.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled recently that federal telecommunications law does not stop states from regulating broadband rates. This was in relation to a 2018 law passed by the State of New York that required internet service providers (ISPs) to offer low-income rate plans for as low as $15 per month. ISPs appealed the new law, and a US District Court issued an injunction against the law. The recent ruling overturned that injunction and puts the law back into effect.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) waives the FCC’s rules, on its own accord, to include in West Side Telephone Company’s (West Side’s) Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (Enhanced A-CAM) offer locations that would otherwise have been treated as served by a competitor due to a federally enforceable commitment by ClearFiber. This limited waiver applies only to the locations within West Side’s West Virginia study area where ClearFiber is no longer subject to a

This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission for the purpose of facilitating their joint and common goals, obligations, and responsibilities to protect consumers and the public interest. The Agencies recognize and acknowledge that each agency has legal, technical, and investigative expertise and experience that is valuable for rendering advice and guidance to the other relating to the acts or practices of Internet service providers. It is agreed that: 

The Federal Communications Commission voted to restore a national standard to ensure the internet is fast, open, and fair. This decision to reclassify broadband service as a Title II telecommunications service allows the FCC to protect consumers, defend national security, and advance public safety. With this vote, the FCC restores fundamental authority to provide effective oversight over broadband service providers, giving the Commission essential tools to:

Net neutrality, a set of policies designed to prevent internet-service providers from playing favorites among the websites they carry, is coming back. In a vote on April 25 the Federal Communications Commission classified internet service as a public utility. The definition is part of a new framework the FCC will use to regulate broadband networks. Net-neutrality rules typically bar internet-service providers from assigning priority to certain web traffic or creating so-called fast lanes for certain websites.

On April 25, the Federal Communications Commission will vote to reinstate the net neutrality rules and resume real regulatory oversight over broadband. It is critical that the text of this reinstated regulatory framework does not inadvertently undermine its own objectives in regards to broadband affordability.

Here are five reasons why we need net neutrality protections restored and why the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed Title II reclassification brings back its ability to provide necessary oversight to this essential service: 

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) led a bicameral coalition of their committee colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reverse course and abandon its so-called “net neutrality” draft order—an illegal power grab that would expose the broadband industry to an oppressive regulatory regime under Title II of the Communications Act. The members argue that the FCC’s draft order ignores the text of the Communications Act of 1934, which explicitly precludes the FCC from