FCC asks for more public input on whether to let Charter impose data caps

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The Federal Communications Commission is taking another round of public comments on Charter’s petition seeking permission to impose data caps on broadband users and charge network-interconnection fees to online-video providers, following a court ruling that may complicate the FCC’s decision.

The deadline for comments on Charter’s petition passed on August 6. But in a public notice issued today, the FCC said it is opening an additional comment period that will last until September 2, giving people time to weigh in on the impact of the court ruling.

“To ensure that the [Wireline Competition] Bureau has a full record upon which to evaluate the effects of the conditions, we initiate this additional comment period,” the FCC notice said, while also inviting commenters to “address the effect” of the new court ruling on the FCC’s consideration of Charter’s petition. As before, comments can be submitted on the docket by clicking “New Filing” or “Express.” There are more than 1,500 filings, mostly from consumers who object to data caps.

Court ruling lets Charter charge new fees

The ruling Friday by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit eliminated a merger condition that required Charter to provide free network interconnection to large online providers until May 18, 2023. The Obama-era FCC imposed that and other conditions on Charter when it bought Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016 with the goal of preventing business disputes that have a history of harming consumer-broadband performance when companies refuse to pay fees demanded by ISPs. But the Trump-era FCC

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