US Government Tells States to Ditch Net Neutrality and Price Regulations for Broadband Grants
The Trump administration has issued a directive that states must exempt internet service providers from net neutrality rules and price regulations in order to receive billions of dollars in federal broadband grants. This move is seen as a major blow to efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers.
According to Commerce Department official Arielle Roth, any state that wants to receive funding under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program must exempt BEAD providers from economic regulations such as price regulation and net neutrality. Roth argued that these regulations "threaten financial viability" of projects and drive up costs for internet service providers.
The move is likely to impact states with strong net neutrality laws, including California and New York. California's law prohibits ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful traffic, while New York's law requires ISPs to offer low-cost broadband plans to people with low incomes.
Critics say the Trump administration is using the BEAD program to undermine state efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers. "This would be trouble for California and New York," said one expert. "These states have already seen the impact of the Trump administration's regulatory rollbacks on their broadband industries."
The NTIA is interpreting the US law that created the BEAD program in an expansive way, categorizing net neutrality rules as impermissible rate regulation. This move would allow ISPs to charge whatever prices they want for broadband services without fear of regulation.
State governments are complying with the NTIA's demands, but some experts warn that this could lead to a patchwork of conflicting regulations and higher costs for consumers. The Biden administration developed rules for BEAD and approved initial funding plans submitted by every state and territory, but the Trump administration's overhaul of the program rules has delayed the funding.
The changes imposed by the Trump NTIA have caused states to allocate less funding overall, leading to an ongoing dispute over what will happen to the $42 billion program's leftover money. The Biden NTIA is now considering how states can use some of the BEAD savings on key outcomes like permitting reform, but no final decisions have been made.
The move is seen as a major victory for internet service providers and a setback for efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers. As one expert put it, "this is a big deal - it's a huge blow to any efforts that states might have had to use these funds to build more broadband infrastructure".
The Trump administration has issued a directive that states must exempt internet service providers from net neutrality rules and price regulations in order to receive billions of dollars in federal broadband grants. This move is seen as a major blow to efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers.
According to Commerce Department official Arielle Roth, any state that wants to receive funding under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program must exempt BEAD providers from economic regulations such as price regulation and net neutrality. Roth argued that these regulations "threaten financial viability" of projects and drive up costs for internet service providers.
The move is likely to impact states with strong net neutrality laws, including California and New York. California's law prohibits ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful traffic, while New York's law requires ISPs to offer low-cost broadband plans to people with low incomes.
Critics say the Trump administration is using the BEAD program to undermine state efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers. "This would be trouble for California and New York," said one expert. "These states have already seen the impact of the Trump administration's regulatory rollbacks on their broadband industries."
The NTIA is interpreting the US law that created the BEAD program in an expansive way, categorizing net neutrality rules as impermissible rate regulation. This move would allow ISPs to charge whatever prices they want for broadband services without fear of regulation.
State governments are complying with the NTIA's demands, but some experts warn that this could lead to a patchwork of conflicting regulations and higher costs for consumers. The Biden administration developed rules for BEAD and approved initial funding plans submitted by every state and territory, but the Trump administration's overhaul of the program rules has delayed the funding.
The changes imposed by the Trump NTIA have caused states to allocate less funding overall, leading to an ongoing dispute over what will happen to the $42 billion program's leftover money. The Biden NTIA is now considering how states can use some of the BEAD savings on key outcomes like permitting reform, but no final decisions have been made.
The move is seen as a major victory for internet service providers and a setback for efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers. As one expert put it, "this is a big deal - it's a huge blow to any efforts that states might have had to use these funds to build more broadband infrastructure".
this is a huge blow to efforts to regulate the internet and protect consumers. states like california and new york are already struggling with broadband infrastructure, now they're gonna have to deal with higher prices too? it's not fair... 
or what if the ISPs just use these funds to cut corners and not invest in improving their services? that would be a huge waste of money... 
. i mean, california & new york hav strong laws that r supposed 2 keep ISPs from bein jerks but now they gotta opt out or forfeit funding 
... They're basically giving internet service providers free rein to charge whatever they want for broadband services and it's like a big thumbs down for consumers 
. I mean, who wants to pay an arm and a leg for their internet just because the government is being all lenient? 
California and New York are going to be majorly affected too, like they already had laws in place to protect people from ISPs being total jerks 
. This is so concerning... what's next 
?
. So basically what's happening is that the US government is telling states to let internet service providers (ISPs) do whatever they want, as long as they can get their hands on those billions of dollars in federal broadband grants 
.
. California and New York, which have strong net neutrality laws in place, are probably going to be the hardest hit 
. I mean, can you imagine being stuck with slow speeds and getting nickel-and-dimed on your internet bill? It's like living in the Wild West out there 
.
. Without regulations, ISPs will be able to manipulate prices and dictate who gets access to fast, reliable internet 
. And let me tell you, this would disproportionately affect low-income communities and rural areas 
.
. I hope someone steps in soon and reverses this decision before it's too late 
. We need strong regulations to ensure that everyone has access to fast, affordable internet 
.
this is wild 
this is a disaster waiting to happen, mark my words 
. It's like we're being forced to play a game where everyone knows the rules except the referees – not cool 
this is insane!!! like whats next? them gonna tell states they gotta sell their souls to get funding for broadband? cant believe the trump administration is so brazen about this... theyre basically saying "hey, if you wanna play by the rules and protect consumers, sorry not sorry, we'll just take our billions and leave you high and dry" 
california and new york were already making some progress on getting more people online and now that's being taken away from them... what's next? 
It's not fair to consumers who are gonna get stuck with higher prices for internet services.
this is like they wanna keep ISPs rich off us & our data