Connect the Future Statement on Proposed FCC “Open Internet” Rules
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted in favor of adopting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to relaunch net neutrality rules by reclassifying broadband as a Title II service. Connect the Future (CTF) released the following statement in response:
“The Commission’s proposed ’open internet’ rules risk complicating or altogether impeding ongoing efforts to bring high-speed internet to unserved communities that have been cut off from digital opportunities for far too long.
As billions in federal, state and local broadband funding are being deployed to close the nation’s digital divide, the FCC can play a consequential part in achieving our national goal of universal connectivity by removing the obstacles standing in the way of broadband deployment, rather than adding to existing costs and burdens for providers. Such costs and burdens further discourage providers from expanding broadband to remote areas, thus having the greatest impact on those who need internet access the most.
Prompt FCC action on its three-year-old proceeding is critical to ensuring an equitable division of pole replacement costs between pole owners and attachers, standardized timelines for processing pole attachment applications, and a much-needed expedited docket for pole access disputes. We cannot lose sight of or waste this historic opportunity to connect every unserved American to reliable, high-speed internet.”