D.C. Memo: Will ISPs Ask FCC to Void New York’s Affordable Internet Law?
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N.Y. Law: On Friday, ISP trade groups threw in the towel. In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, the groups said they would no longer fight in federal court a New York law requiring reduced-price Internet plans for low-income consumers. “Plaintiffs-Appellees write to inform the Court that they will not be filing a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc,” lawyers for the trade groups said in a one-page notice. Although the court battle appears over, ISPs could challenge the New York law under the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules set to take effect on July 22. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, said the Net Neutrality rules preempted New York’s Affordable Broadband Act, making it unenforceable. But it’s unclear whether the ISPs would actually seek relief from the Democratic-controlled FCC, mainly because the FCC declared in the Net Neutrality rules that "the mere existence of a state affordability program is not rate regulation.” New York’s ABA required ISPs to offer qualifying low-income consumers a basic service plan of 25 Mbps for $15 per month, or 200 Mbps for $20 per month. Fighting the law were: ACA Connects; the N.Y. State Telecommunications Association; CTIA; NTCA; USTelecom; and the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association.