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The Week Ahead: Broadband, internet industries prepare for net neutrality vote

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The Week Ahead: Broadband, internet industries prepare for net neutrality vote

In Washington:

The Federal Communications Commission returns to the spotlight this week as the agency is set to vote on overhauling its net neutrality regulations. On Dec. 14, the commission will hold its monthly open meeting. The most high-profile item on the agenda is FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to overturn the 2015 Open Internet Order.

The 2015 order classified broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act, making it subject to more stringent regulatory authority. This classification enabled the FCC to enforce its net neutrality rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. Paid prioritization involves a broadband service provider giving priority to select internet traffic in exchange for some monetary consideration, a practice that opponents say creates "internet fast lanes."

Pai's proposed order would move broadband to a Title I classification, leaving the FCC with less authority to regulate the service. The proposal calls for the elimination of the current net neutrality rules, though it would impose a transparency rule requiring companies to disclose if and when they blocked, throttled or prioritized traffic.

The proposal has stirred up a great deal of controversy. The news site Business Insider — which was launched by former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget and online ad executives Dwight Merriman and Kevin Ryan — warned consumers that Pai's proposed order could "radically reshape the internet by giving an already powerful group of telecommunications companies a great deal of control over what you can see and do online. It will also likely leave you with higher prices and fewer choices."

Republicans at the FCC, however, have argued that warnings like this are overblown. In a recent speech, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly noted, "The Commission had no enforceable net neutrality rules prior to December 2010. That unregulated regime resulted in the creation of Google [Inc.] in 1998, Facebook [Inc.] in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter [Inc.] in 2006." Chairman Pai said during a recent speech that there is a "huge gulf between the rhetoric on this issue and the reality," adding that his order will not destroy all consumer protections around internet service. "We will move from heavy-handed regulation to light-touch regulation, not a completely hands-off approach. We won't be giving anybody a free pass," he said.

With Republicans holding a 3-2 majority at the FCC over Democrats, Pai's order is all but guaranteed to pass. Beyond Pai, both O'Rielly and Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr have signaled their intention to vote in favor of the order.

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Congress:
Dec. 12 The Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet will convene a hearing titled "Digital Decision-Making: The Building Blocks of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence" at 10 a.m. ET.
Dec. 12 The House Judiciary Committee will hold a markup of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017.
Dec. 12 The House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade will hold a hearing on "The Future of the North American Free Trade Agreement" at 2 p.m. ET.
FCC events
Dec. 12 The Federal Communications Commission's Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will meet. The group provides recommendations on best practices and actions the FCC can take to ensure the security, reliability and interoperability of communications systems.
Dec. 14 The FCC will hold its monthly open meeting at 10:30 a.m. ET. In addition to the net neutrality order, the FCC will be voting on a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on whether to modify or eliminate the 39% national audience reach cap, which prohibits a single broadcast station group from owning TV stations that together reach more than 39% of U.S. TV households.
Industry events
Dec. 11 Jefferies hosts its Communications Investor Relations Summit.
Dec. 11 National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors will host a webinar assessing how 2017 affected policy and practice on key communications issues and will provide their views of what may be coming in 2018.
Dec. 11 Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups will host a conversation about the Federal Communications Commission's wireline infrastructure proceeding, which aims to make it easier for telecoms to retire their copper networks.
Dec. 12 The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop to examine consumer injury in the context of privacy and data security.
Dec. 12 The Fiber Broadband Association will host an event titled "Paving the Road to 5G with Fiber."
Dec. 12 The Federal Communications Bar Association will host an event with members of the FCC Media Bureau's industry analysis division.
Dec. 13 The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution will host a policy forum to explore patent reform.
Dec. 13 The Copyright Alliance, SIIA and the Creative Rights Caucus will host a panel titled "The Many Faces of Copyright."
Dec. 13 Humans of Cybersecurity, New America's cybersecurity diversity project, will host a discussion about diversity in the cybersecurity workforce.

Stories of note:

Former FCC representatives weigh FTC's power on net neutrality

Fake email accounts, comments raise questions about net neutrality overhaul

Multichannel Summit panel: Regional factors dampen M&A in European telecoms