Net neutrality update February 2017

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai set out his views on broadband, mobile and 5G developments (see this previous post for more on 5G and the Mobile World Congress). In his view, the key to realising 5G is to set rules that will maximise investment in broadband: “the more difficult government makes the business case for deployment, the less likely it is that broadband providers big and small will invest the billions of dollars needed to connect consumers with digital opportunity.”

In this context he went on to describe the US as being in the process of returning to a light-touch approach to regulation (see this previous post for further background on this), a policy which has previously facilitated significant growth and investment: “we would not have seen such innovation if, in the 1990s, the government had treated broadband like a railroad or water utility.” He referred to the application of utility style regulation to broadband networks (as set out in the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order) as a “mistake”, in that it created uncertainty in the marketplace, this being “the enemy of growth”. He went on to acknowledge that while government does have a role to play in encouraging competition, light-touch regulation is provides a better way forward: “We will embrace what works and dispense with what doesn’t.”

Earlier in the month the FCC announced that its investigation into free data initiatives had closed; in a statement Chairman Pai said “These free-data plans have proven to be popular among consumers, particularly low-income Americans, and have enhanced competition in the wireless marketplace. Going forward, the Federal Communications Commission will not focus on denying Americans free data. Instead, we will concentrate on expanding broadband deployment and encouraging innovative service offerings.”

Also this month the FCC voted to “protect small businesses from needless regulation” by exempting them from reporting and transparency obligations set out in the 2015 Open Internet Order. It argued that this will allow them to “devote more resources to operating, improving and building out their networks.”