Republicans Lean on Clinton-Era Law for Broadband Conglomerates
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reinterpreting a key law to consider relaxing constraints on telecoms giants. Republican Chair Ajit Pai this week invoked Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act to argue that smartphones alone could help broadband providers meet statutory requirements on access and deployment. “We propose to incorporate both fixed and mobile advanced telecommunications services into our Section 706 inquiry,” agency filings said on Tuesday, in a notice of inquiry. The FCC will accept comments on the proposal for two weeks starting on…