This affordable 70-page booklet makes a handy guide to the technological, legal, and political pressures which gave rise to the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order. It explains the challenges the Order faces, and some of the main arguments against it. This text takes a more scholarly approach than the latest headlines and soundbites, but remains accessible to the average reader.
The annotated bibliography makes a great starting point for those who wish to do more in-depth research into the history and details of the 2015 Order, identifying where to find the most relevant court cases, government documents, and reports.
The main essay is supplemented with a case study of "Brand X," which sheds light on the FCC's authority to reclassify broadband in the 2015 Order, and a short essay on the FCC's spectrum auctions. These two chapters give additional context to the ideas presented in the main essay relating to case law and broadband expansion.
This booklet concludes with two more short essays: a case study of the controversial "Obergefell v. Hodges" (same-sex marriage), and a brief examination of "Friedman v. Highland Park" (Second Amendment rights).
Net Neutrality for Broadband: Abstract
The FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order reclassified high-speed broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service subject to common carriage requirements under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 following decades of technological convergence, litigation, and increasing popular and political pressure. The Order's service requirements and ban on paid prioritization, though contentious, pave the way for the FCC's vision of nationwide broadband. As beneficial as the net neutrality rules may be, the FCC's legal battles are far from over.
Keywords: FCC, 2015 Open Internet Order, telecommunications, Internet, broadband, public policy, net neutrality, regulation, Title II