FCC Rightly Repealed 2015 Net Neutrality Rules, Pai Says, Seeking a Law

Despite warnings at the time, the internet wasn’t “destroyed,” Pai said. Utility-style regulation “disincentivizes companies, the private sector, from raising capital and deploying that capital to build broadband networks,” he said. It’s “just common sense” that companies are less likely to invest under Communications Act Title II, he said: “Nobody would do that.”

IPI President Tom Giovanetti warned of “whiplash in broadband policy” when Democrats take over. “Everything old is going to be new again, and all these things we thought we had put to bed are going to rise from the dead like zombies,” he said.

Pai said legislation is the only way to address the issue long term. “Net neutrality has been one of the biggest rabbit holes in public policy that I have ever seen,” he said. There has been “so much sound and fury that means absolutely nothing in the real world.” Legislation should ban blocking or throttling of lawful content and anti-competitive paid prioritization, and mandate ISPs be transparent in how they do business and manage their networks, he said: “Because there’s such a religious attachment in some quarters on the far left for utility-style regulation, who knows if it’s ever going to pass.”

The FCC may still complete action on a 2017 NPRM on ways that 5,000 “twilight” towers could be made available for collocation of wireless facilities without additional historic review (see 1712140049). Lack of action before he left was one of Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s top regrets, he said last week. “That’s one of the things that we’re continuing to work on,” Pai said, noting he asked Commissioner Brendan Carr to take the lead. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to come up” with an answer “by Jan. 20, but certainly that’s something that needs to be resolved,” he said.

“Broadband has been one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic,” Pai said. The FCC recognized in March that with hundreds of millions of Americans stuck at home, “broadband was going to be absolutely essential,” he said.

Europe has utility regulation “that some folks on the left adore,” and during COVID-19, regulators had to ask major streaming services to slow their streams, Pai said.

“You definitely have to have a thick skin” to take on spectrum issues, Pai said: “The agencies are going to say if the FCC reclaims this spectrum, ‘Planes are going to fall out of the sky, the GPS system is going to be compromised, weather forecasting is going to end.’” It will be “incredibly difficult” to clear other bands, he said. Pai cited the fight over sharing the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059) despite protection for incumbents. “Even though we had … carefully tailored conditions, we still got a ton of opposition,” he said.

Pai urged Congress to fund the estimated $1.6 billion it will cost to replace equipment from Huawei and ZTE in U.S. networks (see 2012100054). “You’re not going to find anyone more fiscally conservative than me,” he said: “The return on the investment is potentially significant.” Consider the threat to rural carriers, he said. Pai also hopes Congress finances maps needed for a 5G Fund (see 2010270034). “It has been a frustrating issue, to be sure, because we spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the maps more accurate,” he said.

Pai hopes the next chair won’t reverse his decision to publish meeting items three weeks before a commissioner vote. “You shouldn’t have to hire a high-price lawyer or lobbyist to figure out what the FCC is about to do,” he said. “Now the genie is out of the bottle,” and ending the practice would be “a terrible move” politically and for the FCC’s reputation, he said. Pai said he doesn’t have any concrete plans after he leaves the FCC.