Republican lawmakers are challenging a Biden administration initiative requiring Internet service providers (ISPs) that receive federal grants to offer low-cost plans to low-income individuals. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which administers the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, is under investigation by GOP leaders for what they describe as an illegal form of rate regulation. Details of the investigation can be found here.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), along with Subcommittee Chairs Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), claim the NTIA is directing states to set specific rates for the broadband service, as noted in their letter to the agency. They cite Virginia’s experience where NTIA feedback required a low-cost option be defined as an exact price or formula.
The controversy stems from the law mandating the NTIA to distribute funds with the stipulation that grantees offer at least one \u2018low-cost broadband service option\u2019 for eligible subscribers, while simultaneously prohibiting regulation of broadband rates. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson maintains that enforcing the low-cost requirement does not equate to rate regulation. More on the NTIA’s stance can be read here.
Davidson noted, \u201cThe statute requires that there be a low-cost service option. We do not believe the states are regulating rates here. We believe that this is a condition to get a federal grant.\u201d He emphasized that the NTIA must evaluate whether plans submitted by states qualify as affordable to approve their grants. The original article detailing these developments can be accessed here.