Today: California Lawmakers Amend Net Neutrality Bill, FCC Agenda for March Open Meeting, US Congress Hearing on Telecom Bills
California Lawmakers Amend Net Neutrality Bill
A bill that was originally introduced in January 2018 has been amended in attempts to surpass the rules laid out in the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. Senator Scott Wiener originally introduced this bill in response to the Restoring Internet Freedom Order which was released by the FCC in January 2018. While other states have essentially copied the text of the 2015 FCC Order, the California bill adds prohibitions on ISPs charging “access fees” that edge providers would have to pay in order to send data to end user customers. Also, the bill goes further in providing protections against data cap exemptions (“zero rating”) than the 2015 FCC Order. That move would essentially prevent ISPs from charging edge providers for the right to deliver their services to end users without counting against the end users’ data caps. It is still unclear at this time whether or not the FCC’s state law preemption will survive a legal challenge. However, in the meantime, states are pressing forward with their own legislative actions and executive orders in hopes that they can be ready once the Restoring Internet Freedom Order takes effect. Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefings dated 2/8/18, 2/13/18, and 2/19/18.
FCC Agenda for March Open Meeting
The FCC announced the final agenda for its March 22, 2018, Open Meeting. The meeting will be broadcast live and can be viewed from the FCC Live web page at www.fcc.gov/live. The following items will be considered:
US Congress Hearing On Telecom Bills
The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology announced it will hold a hearing on March 22, 2018, to consider several communications-related bills. This includes:
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.