FCC “Fact Sheet” on draft broadband deployment report is light on facts, heavy on propaganda that favors big telecom

In response to dubious FCC claims, digital rights group Fight for the Future calls on Energy & Commerce Committee leadership to immediately introduce legislation to restore strong net neutrality protections across the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 20, 2019
Contact: Evan Greer, 978-852-6457, press@fightforthefuture.org

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a fact sheet previewing findings from a yet-to-be published report on the state of broadband Internet across the country. While the report is currently being circulated amongst FCC Commissioners and will face a vote for approval in the coming weeks, Commissioner Rosenworcel has already taken to Twitter to publicly criticize the reports conclusions.

Responding to yesterday’s fact sheet, Fight for the Future Deputy Director Evan Greer (pronouns: she/her) had this to say:

“From what we can see, this report looks like it was written by a telecom lobbyist and bears no resemblance to what Internet users are experiencing in their everyday lives. The fact that the ISP’s bought-and-paid for mercenaries are lining up to celebrate the report’s findings should tell you everything you need to know—but in case you need more, here are the facts on the ground: U.S. residents are already paying more money for less Internet than nearly anywhere in the world, so it’s awfully strange that the FCC’s media sheet said nothing about price and competition. We hear story after story of people being price-gouged by Internet service providers – most of whom, by the FCC’s own admission, have zero choice in ISP. Since the FCC’s net neutrality repeal went through, prices have gone up, providers’ own earnings reports show they are not investing more in their networks, fiber deployment has slowed, and telecoms like AT&T are conducting massive layoffs. Enough is enough. Between the FCC’s misleading report and the GOP’s proposed fake net neutrality bills, it’s time for Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone and his Communications and Technology and subcommittee lead Rep. Mike Doyle to take a stand and set things right by introducing strong legislation to restore net neutrality and other consumer protections that the FCC gutted in late 2017.

Fight for the Future is leading an online campaign asking Congress to restore strong net neutrality protections at BattleForTheNet.com.

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