On May 15, 2017, USTelecom and NCTA – The Internet & Television Association filed a petition for
declaratory ruling asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify certain aspects of the Commission’s regulations governing broadband speed disclosures. The petition requests that the Commission: (1) confirm that a broadband provider’s description of speeds based on this average peak-hour metric complies with the Commission’s transparency requirements and, unless and until BIAS is no longer classified as a telecommunications service, that such a characterization of actual broadband performance is just and reasonable under Section 201 of the Communications Act; and (2) reaffirm that BIAS providers retain flexibility to comply with the Transparency Rule through alternative disclosures beyond this safe-harbor approach. Comments are due on or before June 16, 2017; replies are due on or before July 3, 2017.
