ISPs fear wave of state laws after New York’s $15 broadband mandate

More state bills are expected

Morrow told Ars he is concerned about his bill facing opposition from Internet providers, though he noted Comcast already offers a low-cost plan in Vermont that “just needs to be advertised better.” Morrow said he modeled his bill on the New York law and that he is optimistic about its passage.

“I am optimistic, but there is a lot going on right now, so it is certainly not guaranteed,” he said.

More state bills are expected. “A number of states will consider stepping into the vacuum left by the FCC and the courts deciding that the FCC does not have jurisdiction over broadband networks and Congress letting the ACP expire,” New Street Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin told Ars. Levin was chief of staff to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt during the Clinton years and oversaw the writing of the US National Broadband Plan during the Obama administration.

“I expect more [states] will focus on helping low-income households than on net neutrality,” Levin continued. “There may be other broadband-related issues that states may explore, including but not limited to network resiliency, public safety, and billing transparency.”

ISPs will fight the laws at the state level and urge the FCC to preempt them, Levin noted. But the FCC lost an attempt to preempt all state net neutrality laws during the first Trump administration, with a federal appeals court saying that “in any area where the Commission lacks the authority to regulate, it equally lacks the power to preempt state law.”

States should not view legal challenges as a major roadblock, van Schewick told Ars. “The case law is now abundantly clear that when the FCC is powerless to protect consumers online, the states can step in to protect their residents,” she said. “They can create their own net neutrality protections, like California and others do, require affordable broadband options like New York, and institute broadband privacy protections like Maine. All of these laws have been upheld in court.”