D.C. Memo: Carr Says Bulk Billing Ban Would Have Pushed Internet Bills Much Higher

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Carr: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr yesterday issued a statement regarding his decision to end the agency’s consideration of a ban on bulk billing contracts between Internet providers and landlords who own or manage apartment buildings, condos, and other multiple dwelling units. “During the Biden-Harris Administration, FCC leadership put forward a ‘bulk billing’ proposal that could have raised the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50 percent,” Carr said. “This regulatory overreach from Washington would have hit families right in their pocketbooks at a time when they were already hurting from the last Administration’s inflationary policies.” Republican Carr said the plan proposed by his predecessor, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, would have hit “seniors, students, and low-income individuals … particularly hard.” Carr indicated that he’s not finished. “There is a lot of work ahead to reverse the last Administration’s costly regulatory overreach,” he said. John Bergmayer, Legal Director at Public Knowledge, was critical of Carr’s decision. “It’s a shame. The arguments on the pro-bulk-billing side were spurious or overblown …” he said, adding that bulk billing deals “require people to pay for Internet service they don’t want or need.”