FCC Reclassifies BIAS, Adopts Net Neutrality Rules, Forbears on USF

Over the dissents of the agency's two Republican Commissioners, the FCC on April 25 reclassified broadband Internet access service (BIAS) as a telecommunications service subject to common carrier regulation under Title II of the Communications Act, reclassified mobile BIAS as a commercial mobile service, and reinstated net neutrality rules against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, as well as a general conduct standard that prohibits unreasonable interference or unreasonable disadvantage to consumers or edge providers. The item makes clear that the FCC will use a case-by-case approach to preemption of state laws, according to Mason Shefa, an attorney-adviser in the Competition Policy Division of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, who presented the item to the Commissioners at the meeting. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted that "nearly a dozen [states] put net neutrality rules into state law, executive orders, and contracting policies" after the 2017 rollback of FCC net neutrality protections. [...]broadband investment was higher when net neutrality rules were in place than after they were repealed."