Telecom Industry Groups to Block Reintroduction of US Net Neutrality Rules – TelecomLead

Telecom industry groups are seeking to block the rollback of net neutrality rules, which are set to take effect on July 22 in the United States.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US telecom regulator, voted in April to restore regulatory oversight of broadband internet and restore open internet rules originally passed in 2015, which were repealed during the term of former President Donald Trump. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are facing another election in November 2024.

These reinstated rules prohibit Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking or slowing traffic to certain websites and from engaging in paid prioritization of legal content. Additionally, the rules provide the FCC with new tools to address issues related to Chinese telecom companies and monitor Internet service outages more effectively, the Reuters news report said.

Earlier, telecom industry groups said the rollback of net neutrality rules would negatively impact their investments in broadband infrastructure. According to Statista, the number of broadband subscribers in the US was 114.7 million at the end of 2023. According to a report from GlobalData, America’s fixed broadband revenue is estimated to be $152.5 billion in 2023.

Industry groups representing major telecom service providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have filed legal challenges to the order in seven US district courts in recent days. The groups, which include USTelecom, NCTA, CTIA and ACA Connects, have asked the FCC to delay implementation of the order to allow for judicial review or, if necessary, a court-issued temporary block on the new rules.

Restoring net neutrality has been a top priority for President Joe Biden, who signed an executive order in July 2021 asking the FCC to roll back the 2015 rules put in place under Democratic President Barack Obama. The industry groups claim that the FCC “has once again claimed sweeping authority to regulate how Americans access the Internet — this time, enacting even more invasive rules than in 2015.”

FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel has assured that the commission will not engage in rate regulation or undermine incentives for network investment. The Democratic majority at the FCC, achieved in October, ended nearly three years of stalled efforts to restore net neutrality.

Under the Trump administration, the FCC had argued that net neutrality rules were unnecessary, stifled innovation and led to a decrease in network investment by ISPs, a claim disputed by Democrats. Despite the 2017 decision to overturn the federal requirement, a dozen states have since implemented their own net neutrality laws or regulations. Industry groups abandoned legal challenges to those state requirements in May 2022.

TelecomLead.com News Desk