Broadband Access and Regulation

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Commission seek to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls. The petition would undermine these protections by opening the floodgates to unwanted political robocalls. It would also create an exemption based on the content of the calls.

Following the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that the Universal Service Fund's administrative structure violates federal law, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released the following statement from Joe Kane, ITIF’s director of broadband and spectrum policy.

The Commission should establish predictable federal guardrails to address wireline deployment barriers while preserving legitimate state and local ROW-management functions. These measures would give providers and governments clearer expectations and reduce some regulatory uncertainty surrounding deployments that require state or local authorization.

Phasing out legacy High-Cost mechanisms, allowing time-limited deployment programs to sunset as scheduled, and establishing a leaner USF focused on broadband affordability and adoption would better serve consumers, strengthen competition, and improve stewardship of USF resources.

The Commission should thoughtfully consider AT&T’s petition because it could catalyze the retirement of outdated copper networks, accelerate network modernization, and advance the transition to a modern, all-IP communications ecosystem.

The Commission should lean into technological advancements that have made Intercarrier Compensation and the Connect America Fund unnecessary, not delay at the expense of consumers.

Rather than building on the crumbled foundation of the scarcity-rationale cases, the Commission should unwind all content-based regulations within its control, send the signal the Supreme Court invited that the underpinnings of the scarcity rationale are defunct, and decline to defend unconstitutional enforcement actions.

At a time of unprecedented growth in the broadband market, California’s broadband laws remain unchanged, and it is costing consumers faster, more reliable Internet.

NextNav’s proposal for the FCC to unilaterally grant it greater rights at the expense of other users of the 900 MHz band is not in the public interest.

New York City’s broadband report cherry-picks outdated data to make the case for government-owned networks, but its own evidence shows competition is strong and affordability challenges require targeted support—not more infrastructure mandates.