The organizations comprising Latinos for Internet Freedom and Media Action Grassroots Network urge the Commission to expeditiously codify the six open Internet principles articulated in its initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and to apply them across all Internet access platforms, including mobile wireless Internet access. Lower barriers to adoption have facilitated the widespread use of the mobile Internet in communities of color and low-income areas, where many individuals would otherwise go without Internet access altogether. And although wireless Internet access through a mobile device is not currently an adequate substitute for home wireline broadband accessed through a computer, many of our constituents rely exclusively on mobile wireless Internet access as their onramp to the web. Furthermore, in the near future, many unserved rural constituents may be able to connect to the next generation of wireless Internet, finally receiving home broadband Internet service without any wires whatsoever. Thus, the Commission must extend the six open Internet principles to wireless Internet access to avoid unintentionally treating communities of color, people living in rural areas, and the poor as second-class digital citizens.
In addition, the Commission is correct to be cautious that “specialized” services not threaten the open Internet. However, without more information about the nature and scope of these services, the Commission cannot accurately assess them at this time. Further, the Commission needs these details if it is to promulgate functional rules governing these services. Thus, the Commission should move ahead and adopt the six proposed open Internet rules in this proceeding and open a separate proceeding to examine “specialized” services.
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