D.C. Memo: Rosenworcel Won't Proactively Strike Down N.Y. ISP Rate Regulation
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New York: According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, the FCC's Net Neutrality rules under Title II of the Communications Act invalidated New York’s Affordable Broadband Act, which required ISPs to offer low-income consumers a basic service plan of 25 Mbps for $15 per month or 200 Mbps for $20 per month. Nevertheless, the court upheld the law as permissible while the FCC classified ISPs as unregulated information service providers. Yesterday, Rep. Tim Walberg, Michigan Republican, asked FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel if her Net Neutrality rules preempted New York’s law. "What you are talking about is a state law that a court let go into effect. There is no petition before us," Rosenworcel said. Walberg also asked if she supported the N.Y. law. In response, the Democrat said the FCC does not support rate regulation, though the Net Neutrality rules do say "broadband affordability efforts do not per se violate our rules." Rosenworcel insisted the FCC won't be proactive in policing states engaged in rate regulation of broadband. "We'll look at any individual cases if a petition is filed before us and one is not before us right now," she said. Meanwhile, Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wasn't going along with that approach. "The substance of the New York law is naked rate regulation, and we should step up and be clear that we don't support rate regulation and that that provision of New York law is preempted by operation of the agency's Title II decision." Walberg tried to broker a compromise: "Well, I hope you'd hammer that out as a commission because frankly with impunity going against what has been put in place by federal standard ought to concern us all."