Republicans release plan to cut FCC budget

House Republicans yesterday released a plan to cut the budget of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by $69 million and prevent it from enforcing net neutrality including  "rate regulations," and efforts to make the set-top box market more competitive.

The proposal comes as the latest in a chain of attempts to weaken the FCC's authority, though it is unusual that it hits two of FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's signature projects while also cutting the agency's budget. The plan forms part of the government's annual appropriations bill.

"The bill contains $315 million for the FCC - a cut of $69 million below the fiscal year 2016 enacted level and $43 million below the [agency's] request," said an announcement by the House Appropriations Committee chaired by Republican Representative Hal Rogers from Kentucky, who received $25,500 from the telecom industry in the current campaign cycle.

"The legislation prohibits the FCC from implementing the net neutrality order until certain court cases are resolved, requires newly proposed regulations to be made publicly available for 21 days before the Commission votes on them, prohibits the FCC from regulating broadband rates, and requires the FCC to refrain from further activity of the recently proposed set-top box rule until a study is completed."

The bill is largely a Republican wish list and unlikely to gain approval. Last year's spending bill had similar provisions to weaken the FCC's internet service regulations, which were stripped out of the final legislation.

Republicans are almost against the FCC's net neutrality rules approved last year, which reclassify internet service providers under strict common carrier regulations. The new authority gives FCC the power to ban internet service providers from blocking, throttling, creating fast lanes or unreasonably discriminatory internet traffic conditions.

Internet service providers went to court to block the rules last year, and a decision is expected. Analysts opine no matter what the ruling, the case could eventually land in the Supreme Court.

The road to net neutrality, however is not without hurdles. Months after the government appeared to have got telecom companies on board, carriers came up with another clever trick to make more money and jeopardise the open internet.

The latest trick is called zero-rating, where telecom service providers decide whose content will be provided without a tariff cap and whose won't. This net neutrality loophole is already being used by mobile carriers  already.

This week, 58 tech companies, including Reddit, Yelp, and Kickstarter, called on the FCC, to hold a transparent discussion about zero-rating practices.

Basically, the companies are seeking the same open discussion that spurred 4 million people to send comments to the FCC because they believed zero-rating policy could have a dramatic effect on the health of net neutrality in the US.