FCC chair plans to block exclusive deals that limit ISP choice in apartments

The Federal Communications Commission is on course to block some types of exclusive deals that ISPs and landlords use to prevent broadband competition in apartment buildings and other multiple-tenant environments.A plan announced Friday by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel would "prohibit providers from entering into graduated revenue sharing agreements or exclusive revenue sharing agreements with a building owner; require providers to disclose to tenants in plain language the existence of exclusive marketing arrangements that they have with building owners; [and] end a practice that circumvents the FCC's cable inside wiring rules by clarifying that existing Commission rules prohibit sale-and-leaseback arrangements that effectively block access to alternative providers," the FCC said.Rosenworcel circulated the proposal to other commissioners, meaning they can vote on it at any time. Leventoff said landlords and ISPs have "exploited loopholes to limit consumer choice" and that Rosenworcel's plan "would curtail the worst of these loopholes—including graduated revenue sharing agreements (which encourage landlords to limit which broadband providers can serve a building in order to maximize their own profit) and sale-leaseback agreements (which exist solely to evade current rules)."Public Knowledge said Rosenworcel should do more for apartment dwellers once the FCC has a 3-2 Democratic majority."[W]ith landlords and ISPs constantly creating new loopholes, consumers in multi-tenant environments won't have full choice until the commission takes action to ban all arrangements that limit consumer choice in multi-tenant environments," Leventoff said.