Legislation Against Net Neutrality Likely to Fail, NARUC Panel Says
Efforts to repeal the FCC’s net neutrality order on Capitol Hill are unlikely to succeed, speakers said Monday at a meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ telecom committee. Nullification of the commission’s net neutrality rules through the Congressional Review Act topped communications and technology priorities for Republicans on the House Commerce Committee (CD Jan 20 p1).
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The act has been used only once and the procedure is unfamiliar, warned Harold Feld, Public Knowledge legal director. A proposed fight against net neutrality regulations through budget measures might have a better chance, he said. But net neutrality is a tiny issue that could be buried in the budget discussion, Feld said. Compared with issues like health care, net neutrality is low down the list of measures unpopular in Congress, said Rick Cimerman, an NCTA vice president.
Speakers criticized the net neutrality order but said they're glad that now that it has been released the FCC can move on to other issues. The commission failed to apply net neutrality rules uniformly across all broadband platforms in its order, said Windstream Senior Counsel Jennie Chandra. Feld said he’s disappointed that the FCC didn’t adopt what was called the third way proposal, which he called sounder legally. But it’s important for the commission to deal with other matters, he said. Feld said his biggest concern about the order comes from the uncertainty that remains, Feld said. He’s disappointed that the commission put off hard questions, creating confusion on critical issues like paid prioritization. Those questions would be fought out first in the FCC and then in the federal circuit courts, he said.
Meanwhile, some federal regulation is needed to clarify states’ jurisdiction over telecom service, said Hank Hultquist, an AT&T vice president. The net neutrality order leaves room for dispute, he said. The issue could be handled case by case, Hultquist said. The Telecom Act of 1996 requires the FCC and state commissions to encourage deployment of advanced telecom services, Feld said. If that language gives the FCC broad authority, it also should give it to the states, he said.
Consumer protection regulations cost money, said District of Columbia Public Service Commissioner Betty Kane. State commissions often have limited resources, she said, asking if industry players would like to help cover the cost of consumer protection efforts. Many state attorneys general, often overloaded with work and with limited funding, also handle consumer telecom matters, said Commissioner Anne Boyle of Nebraska’s Public Service Commission.Industry players are willing to pay for consumer protection regulation if state commissions get a role, Cimerman said.