FCC commissioners diverged on how to assess open internet public comments, and outside parties continued to disagree on the significance of Wednesday's net neutrality Day of Action (DOA) (see 1707120017). Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency will review all comments in the record and make a decision based on the law and other facts. The raw number of comments isn't as important as the substantive ones, he said at Thursday's news conference after the commission meeting. He declined to provide a timetable for action and said he didn't have any DOA conversations with participants. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said it would be "short-sighted" and "problematic" to ignore or discount individuals' comments. Docket 17-108 had 493,462 filings by late Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 7,382,933 (after 797,577 were posted Wednesday, and over 400,000 both Monday and Tuesday). Pai said the agency's electronic comment filing system seemed to be holding up despite the crush of comments. Demand Progress, a DOA organizer, called the protest against FCC-proposed rollback of Title II net neutrality regulation a "historic day" that "broke records." It said Thursday that DOA sparked at least 2 million comments to the FCC (some of them apparently not yet posted) and over 5 million emails and phone calls to Congress, with "tens of millions" of people seeing protest messages online. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office joined the DOA "to sound the alarm about the FCC's attack on net neutrality" and ask for people's support. But FreedomWorks said: "The response, largely from companies greatly benefiting from so-called net neutrality, was unimpressive. The fundamental problem with their message is that it is laughable. The average user's Internet experience today is no different than in 2014. ... Net neutrality is a solution without a problem." NCTA CEO Michael Powell said in a piece also distributed on Medium, which took part in DOA, "the duplicity of big tech’s call to action is revealed by asking are they willing to subject themselves to government regulation to ensure the internet is neutral rather than skewed in favor of their pocketbooks." The Phoenix Center said broadband and telecom capital spending "is down significantly in 2016." Incompas unveiled a poll saying Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump back current net neutrality protections by a 3 to 1 margin.

Internet giants and others joined to oppose FCC plans to undo the 2015 net neutrality order reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under Communications Act Title II. Day of Action (DOA) participants urged people to tell the commission and Congress to preserve net neutrality and an open internet, though edge companies didn't emphasize Title II (and ISPs opposed its use). Some doubted FCC Republicans would change course, but net neutrality advocates said the protest boosted resistance that complicates the rollback efforts and advances their cause.

Internet giants and others joined to oppose FCC plans to undo the 2015 net neutrality order reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under Communications Act Title II. Day of Action (DOA) participants urged people to tell the commission and Congress to preserve net neutrality and an open internet, though edge companies didn't emphasize Title II (and ISPs opposed its use). Some doubted FCC Republicans would change course, but net neutrality advocates said the protest boosted resistance that complicates the rollback efforts and advances their cause.

FCC staff rejected a request for a regulatory stay of a business data service order, said a spokesman Monday, referring to a Wireline Bureau denial. Critics of the deregulatory BDS order that filed the request had said they would take FCC inaction as of June 30 as a denial. Last Monday, they filed for a court stay (see 1707050032), and Friday, they pressed the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing an AT&T challenge to a 2016 BDS tariff investigation order. Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, BT Americas, Granite Telecommunications, Incompas, Windstream and Sprint disputed opposition arguments of the FCC, Citizens Telecommunications and CenturyLink: that the two cases are unrelated, that the D.C. Circuit will dismiss (or remand) the AT&T tariff case, and Citizens' justification for 8th Circuit review. "The BDS Rate Order and BDS Tariff Order are as related as two agency decisions possibly can be," the critics replied (in Pacer) in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296. "The Court should decline the opposing parties' invitation to prejudge the merits of the motions pending before the D.C. Circuit. And Citizens' explanation of why it chose to proceed in the Eighth Circuit merely reveals its motivation in this appeal: forum shopping."

FCC staff rejected a request for a regulatory stay of a business data service order, said a spokesman Monday, referring to a Wireline Bureau denial. Critics of the deregulatory BDS order that filed the request had said they would take FCC inaction as of June 30 as a denial. Last Monday, they filed for a court stay (see 1707050032), and Friday, they pressed the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing an AT&T challenge to a 2016 BDS tariff investigation order. Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, BT Americas, Granite Telecommunications, Incompas, Windstream and Sprint disputed opposition arguments of the FCC, Citizens Telecommunications and CenturyLink: that the two cases are unrelated, that the D.C. Circuit will dismiss (or remand) the AT&T tariff case, and Citizens' justification for 8th Circuit review. "The BDS Rate Order and BDS Tariff Order are as related as two agency decisions possibly can be," the critics replied (in Pacer) in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296. "The Court should decline the opposing parties' invitation to prejudge the merits of the motions pending before the D.C. Circuit. And Citizens' explanation of why it chose to proceed in the Eighth Circuit merely reveals its motivation in this appeal: forum shopping."

Critics of the FCC's deregulatory business data service (BDS) order asked for a court stay after the agency declined to act on their request for regulatory relief (see 1706260054 and 1707030046). Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee filed their stay motion (available here) Monday in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was selected by lottery to hear challenges to the order (Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296 and consolidated cases). The FCC Friday and Citizens and CenturyLink Monday filed oppositions (here and here in Pacer) to a recent request -- by the stay movants plus Granite Telecommunications and Sprint -- that the 8th Circuit transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit.

Critics of the FCC's deregulatory business data service (BDS) order asked for a court stay after the agency declined to act on their request for regulatory relief (see 1706260054 and 1707030046). Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee filed their stay motion (available here) Monday in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was selected by lottery to hear challenges to the order (Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296 and consolidated cases). The FCC Friday and Citizens and CenturyLink Monday filed oppositions (here and here in Pacer) to a recent request -- by the stay movants plus Granite Telecommunications and Sprint -- that the 8th Circuit transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit.

The FCC didn't act by Friday on a request to stay its recent business data service order, said an agency spokesman Monday. He said the issue remains under consideration. Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee had asked the commission to act by June 30 or they would consider inaction a denial (see 1706260054). The FCC rarely grants such requests, but parties are required to seek regulatory relief before asking courts for a stay. Challenges to the deregulatory order are before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Various parties asked that the case be transferred to the D.C. Circuit.

The FCC didn't act by Friday on a request to stay its recent business data service order, said an agency spokesman Monday. He said the issue remains under consideration. Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee had asked the commission to act by June 30 or they would consider inaction a denial (see 1706260054). The FCC rarely grants such requests, but parties are required to seek regulatory relief before asking courts for a stay. Challenges to the deregulatory order are before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Various parties asked that the case be transferred to the D.C. Circuit.

Critics asked the FCC to stay its recent deregulatory business data service order (see 1704200020), and said they would treat inaction by Friday as denial. The record shows incumbent telcos are the only facilities-based provider in 86 percent of buildings with total bandwidth demand of 50 Mbps or less "because it is almost never economically feasible to build a new last-mile connection" in such situations, said a joint stay motion posted Monday in docket 16-143 by Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee. They said competitors must buy last-mile connections from the ILEC to compete, and also often must buy dedicated BDS transport from ILECs. The FCC traditionally used price-cap regulation to control rates, but new leadership "abruptly changed course without seeking further comment" and "adopted results-driven new rules divorced from well-established market analysis principles, precedent and" the previous commission's 2016 proposals, said the motion. ILECs will be allowed to detariff Aug. 1 "and to replace discontinued BDS with higher-cost alternatives, creating the prospect of enormous disruption and uncertainty as the industry migrates to a new paradigm of Commission indifference to competition," said the groups, arguing they met the requirements for a stay: "Moreover, a stay would not harm the ILECs, and instead would avoid massive and permanent losses that would be unrecoverable in the event of reversal." The FCC, stay movants and ILECs didn't comment. The FCC rarely approves such requests, leaving critics to seek court action. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was recently chosen by lottery to hear challenges to the BDS order (see 1706160022), but Incompas and Sprint said Friday they would ask that court to transfer that case to the D.C. Circuit, which has before it an AT&T challenge to a 2016 BDS tariff investigation order. Incompas and Sprint opposed an FCC motion the D.C. Circuit remand the tariff case to the agency (see 1706260015).