Industry groups that challenged New York’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA) were disappointed in Friday’s appeals court decision to reinstate the law. The ABA requires internet service providers to offer broadband service at $15 a month to qualifying low-income households.
In challenging the Act, CTIA; NTCA; ACA Connects; the New York State Telecommunications Association; the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association, and USTelecom said the ABA sought to regulate broadband rates, which they said was contrary to federal law and the FCC’s rules. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York found merit in this argument and granted a permanent injunction, according to Womble Bond Dickinson’s Rural Spectrum Scanner.
But Friday, the Second Circuit found the Plaintiffs’ preemption theories to be unpersuasive. It reversed the judgment of the district court and vacated the permanent injunction, according to Womble Bond Dickinson’s Rural Spectrum Scanner.
“It not only discourages the needed investment in our nation’s infrastructure, but also potentially risks the sustainability of broadband operations in many areas,” the associations stated. They urged Congress to “maintain support for low-income Americans on a nationwide basis.” That was an apparent reference to the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has paid $30 a month toward the cost of internet service for low-income households but is set to run out of money this month without congressional intervention, Inside Towers reported.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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