State:  New York AG Will Lead Multistate Lawsuit Against FCC Net Neutrality Order, NARUC on FCC Net Neutrality Ruling, FirstNet Launches Preemption Tool  

New York Attorney General Will Lead Multistate Lawsuit Against FCC Net Neutrality Order

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released a statement regarding the FCC’s vote and announced that he will lead a multistate lawsuit to stop the rollback of net neutrality.  In part he said that the FCC’s ruling “would enable ISPs to charge consumers more to access sites like Facebook and Twitter and give them the leverage to degrade high quality of video streaming until and unless somebody pays them more money. Even worse, today’s vote would enable ISPs to favor certain viewpoints over others.”  In addition, AG Schneiderman released details of his office’s investigation into fake comments submitted during the net neutrality comment process showing that two million of the comments tole real Americans’ identities. 

NARUC Responds to FCC Net Neutrality Ruling

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has issued the following statement in response to the FCC’s vote today on Internet Freedom rules:

“State regulators have long supported the concept of net neutrality. Since 2002, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has supported policies that promote an open Internet. Although the order does maintain vital transparency requirements, today’s action by the Federal Communications Commission is an unfortunate step.  Given this FCC action, it is past time for Congress to step in and bring certainty to this issue.”

FirstNet Launches Preemption Tool

FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network, has made ruthless preemption (preemption) services available to first responders in states and territories that have opted in to the FirstNet plan and have subscribed to FirstNet service.  “Preemption is a mission-critical feature that enables first responders on FirstNet to communicate and coordinate during emergencies, large events or other situations where commercial networks can become congested.”  It is available in opt-in states at no additional charge to current and future FirstNet subscribers who are primary users.  Primary users include fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, emergency managers, dispatch, and Public Safety Answering Points.  Preemption will enhance priority services already available on FirstNet and ensure first responders can access FirstNet when they need to, 24/7/365.  When the line becomes crowded, it shifts non-emergency traffic to another line, freeing up space for first responders to easily get through.  Calls or texts to 911 will never be shifted from the network.  An opt-out state will not be able to offer its first responders access to a similar capability until its alternative plan is approved and Band 14 is deployed, which will likely take years.

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’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 a TMI Briefing.