Today: Net Neutrality Day Reactions, Wyoming Opts In to FirstNet, FCC Denied Stay of BDS Order
Net Neutrality Day Reactions
In response to the “Day of Action” for net neutrality, government officials offered different takes on what should be done.
FCC Commissioner Clyburn issued a statement supporting continued FCC Title II regulation saying “Today I stand with those who believe that a free and open internet is a foundational principle of our democracy. Its benefits can be felt across our economy and around the globe. That is why I am excited that on this day consumers, entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including broadband providers and internet startups, are speaking out with a unified voice in favor of strong net neutrality rules grounded in Title II. Knowing that the arc of success is bent in our favor and we are on the right side of history, I remain committed to doing everything I can to protect the most empowering and inclusive platform of our time.”
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), on the other hand, issued a statement warning against Title II regulation and saying “Today’s Day of Action highlights the need for Congress to work together to protect consumers and ensure a free and open internet. The internet and the new technologies it unleashed have revolutionized the world in just a few short decades, and done so with little or no federal regulation. I again call on my Democratic colleagues, edge providers and ISPs, and all those who make up the diverse internet ecosystem that has flourished under light-touch regulation to come to the table and work with us on bipartisan legislation that preserves an open internet while not discouraging the investments necessary to fully connect all Americans. Too much is at stake to have this issue ping-pong between different FCC commissions and various courts over the next decade.”
FCC Denies Stay of BDS Order
The FCC denied Motions for Stay of its Business Data Service Report and Order. The FCC said that the petitioners had failed to demonstrate they were likely to succeed on the merits, that they would suffer irreparable injury, or that that the balance of equities favored granting a stay. Among other things, the FCC found that its nearby competitor standard was well documented and supported, that its adoption of a single competitor standard was a reasonable response to the record collected in the proceeding and well within its discretion, and that the petitioners overstated how the August 1, 2017, effective date of the Order will affect the industry. The FCC found that granting a stay of the Order would “harm third parties and the public interest by delaying the promised benefits” of the Order, including “stimulating critical investment in and deployment of facilities and accelerating the deployment of next generation packet-based services relied upon by businesses and other institutions of all sizes.”
Many of the same parties asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which is hearing the broader appeal of the FCC’s Order, to stay the Order, pending judicial review. That petition has not yet been acted on by the Court.
Wyoming Opts In to FirstNet
Governor Matt Mead announced that Wyoming will join the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). “The State of Wyoming has participated in FirstNet consultation and outreach activities throughout the planning of the network and reviewed the details of the FirstNet State Plan,” wrote Governor Mead. “I have determined that it is in the best interest of Wyoming to participate in the FirstNet deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network.” More information on FirstNet is available on their website: firstnet.gov.
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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.
