Net Neutrality for Broadband: Understanding the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order and Other Essays

The FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order reclassified high-speed broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service subject to common carriage requirements under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This change resulted from decades of technological convergence, litigation, and increasing popular and political pressure. The Order’s service requirements and ban on paid prioritization, though contentious, paved the way for the FCC’s vision of nationwide broadband. But the future of net neutrality and the 2015 Order remain uncertain. Since the Order’s enactment in 2015, changes in FCC leadership have followed in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. What will happen next?

This booklet is now updated with the February 2017 essay “Two Years of Net Neutrality: A Policy Analysis Follow-Up”. It updates court decisions which were pending at the time of the original essay. It also reviews the litigation the FCC used to enforce the 2015 Order, and it addresses the changes in the FCC’s leadership since the Order’s enactment.

Matthew earned a bachelor's degree in public administration at Northern Arizona University. In 2014, he began graduate studies in public administration at Fort Hays State University. A Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship Award recipient, Matthew studied marketing and business at Phoenix College.