A Bill to Treat Broadband as a Common Carrier
Reclassifies broadband internet under Title II of the Communications Act, restoring net neutrality.
Broadband internet access service shall be reclassified as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act.
ISPs may not block, throttle, or paid-prioritize lawful internet traffic.
$95 million for FCC implementation.
FCC adjudication.
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- S. 1244 — A Bill to Treat Broadband as a Common Carrier
- Funding source
- $95M FCC implementation appropriation.
- Timeline
- Effective at FCC reclassification order.
- Realistic mechanically, but litigation is the binding timeline — see Mozilla v. FCC (2019).
- Enforcing agency
- Federal Communications Commission.
- Yes — Title II authority confirmed by Brand X (2005) and Verizon v. FCC (2014).
- Penalty for non-compliance
- FCC forfeitures under Section 503.
- Source citation
- Brookings, West (2023), 'Net Neutrality: A Primer' — brookings.edu.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 1:10 (70s)
Title II classification will chill broadband investment, as ISPs warned in 2015-2017.
FCC's 2019 Restoring Internet Freedom Order touted post-repeal investment gains — yet S&P Capital IQ data showed *no* measurable change in capex trajectory. The chilling-effect claim has empirically not occurred.