WELCOME

This should come as no surprise to many. The USTelecom

March 26, 2018 by Kimberly Parks

This should come as no surprise to many. The USTelecom analysis cites an increasing number of state-based plans, including California and Nevada, and that some state telecom providers have invested in these plans. Indeed, in January the FCC passed a new law that would have required the U.S. telecommunications industry to offer plans to consumers who want to use AT&T's mobile broadband networks in the state and in cities. The law has been blocked by the state and is expected to be challenged.

The FCC has not yet ruled on whether the new law will have a net effect. There are still some significant privacy and consumer protections in place, including the "free trade" agreement, the Fair Internet Act, and the Comprehensive Internet Access Act.

But there are also significant technical and legal issues to address in relation to net neutrality.

For example, in its ruling in Verizon's favor against the FCC, the court stated:

"The Court's decision that the FCC may not impose net neutrality rules on broadband markets should not be interpreted as granting the agency any authority to regulate broadband service or its implementation."

So, even if the FCC can pass a regulation that it doesn't intend to impose, that would still not mean that the FCC is not trying to force it to.

In fact, the FCC's own data shows that it has been very successful in blocking Verizon from installing fixed wireless broadband networks, though it was not clear in the FCC's ruling that this is the case.

"Verizon's efforts to prevent broadband deployment from reaching consumers have been limited to an initial test. Verizon is still trying to install broadband networks at its fiber-optic infrastructure site in Orange County, California. Verizon is also attempting to install fixed wireless broadband at its Orange County, California, fiber optic fiber optic network site."

This is because Verizon has been able to install broadband networks throughout the U.S. to build and operate its fiber optic networks in a wide range of states that are not subject to the rules that allow broadband deployment outside the U.S. A 2015 analysis by the FCC's Consumer Research Service shows that Verizon's efforts to block U.S. broadband deployment by Verizon have been limited to an initial test. The FCC's Consumer Research Service analysis indicates that Verizon's efforts to block U.S. broadband deployment by Verizon have been limited to an initial test.

While Verizon has been very successful in blocking Verizon from installing fixed wireless broadband networks, it also failed to enforce net neutrality rules in the past. The FCC's Consumer Research