WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has ended the agency’s consideration of a proposal from last year that sought to regulate so-called “bulk billing” broadband arrangements for entire buildings that might limit consumer choice.
Carr ended the effort by countering that the bulk billing programs actually enabled families living in apartments and other multitenant environments to pay lower prices for internet service.
“During the Biden-Harris Administration, FCC leadership put forward a ‘bulk billing’ proposal that could have raised the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50%,” Carr said. “This regulatory overreach from Washington would have hit families right in their pocketbooks at a time when they were already hurting from the last Administration’s inflationary policies. That is why you saw a broad and bipartisan coalition of groups opposing the plan. After all, seniors, students, and low-income individuals would have been hit particularly hard."
In making the proposal in March of 2024, the previous FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel had argued that bulk buying deals forcing residents of a building to take broadband services from one provider both limited choice and potentially raised prices.
Carr's decision drew praise from ACA Connects, the industry group representing midsized and smaller cable operators.
Thank you, @BrendanCarrFCC, for pulling the FCC’s misguided ban on bulk billing! Great news for many @ACAConnects Members who spent the last year making the strong case that bulk billing arrangements mean affordable costs and quality service for customers.January 27, 2025
