NCTA, USTelecom Seek FCC Broadband Speed Disclosure Harmonization, Flexibility
NCTA and USTelecom asked the FCC to clarify broadband speed disclosure rules to ensure harmonization and industry flexibility amid state mandates. They said the commission established a national regime for measuring and disclosing broadband internet access service (BIAS) speeds, and…
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"is poised to launch a proceeding that may further update that regime," but states are trying "to mandate different disclosures based on unreliable performance metrics." The commission should act "to avoid a patchwork of inconsistent requirements and to protect its authority to maintain a uniform national framework for this interstate service," said an NCTA/USTelecom petition posted Tuesday. It said the agency gave flexibility to comply with transparency rules, with a "safe harbor" for providers disclosing their average downstream and upstream speeds during peak demand. "The Commission should prevent this framework from being undermined by issuing a declaratory ruling confirming that a broadband provider’s description of speeds based on this average peak-hour metric complies with the Commission’s transparency requirements and, unless and until BIAS is no longer classified as a telecommunications service, that such a characterization of actual broadband performance is just and reasonable," the petition said. The FCC should reaffirm that BIAS providers retain flexibility to comply with transparency rules "through alternative disclosures beyond" the safe harbor, the groups wrote. "Such a ruling -- along with a confirmation that broadband providers can meet these obligations through website disclosures, and a clarification that it is consistent with federal law for broadband providers also to advertise maximum speeds -- would reinforce the primacy of federal law on these matters. ... Protecting the Commission’s authority to establish national, uniform rules is particularly important ... as the Commission is about to launch a proceeding to put in place a national 'light-touch framework' to govern BIAS providers and preserve a free and open Internet."