Without Net Neutrality, Telecoms Cut Off Customers During Crisis

LOS ANGELES—When the Federal Communications Commission repealed its own net neutrality rules in 2018, it also gave up its right to oversee how telecommunications companies treat their customers. By reclassifying the internet as an “information service” rather than a “telcommunications service,” the FCC gave up most of its regulatory authority. As a result, when the coronavirus crisis struck and sent the United States economy into a tailspin, FCC Chair Ajit Pai (pictured above) had no way to stop telcos from dumping customers who due to sudden loss of jobs and income, missed bill payments. Instead, Pai coaxed about 650 companies into signing a “Keep American Connected Initiative,” pledging not to disconnect customers for at least 60 days. But according to an NBC News report, telcos are already breaking that pledge. Reporting multiple cases of disconnections, the report also quoted statements from Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint in which the companies say that it is the customers’ responsibility to be “pro-active,” and to initiate communication over possible financial hardship issues. “Some people who just lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic are finding that they have lost something else—phone and internet access,” NBC News reported. “Across the country, suddenly unemployed residents are getting threatening notices, despite an initiative from the Federal Communications Commission that pledged last month to ‘Keep Americans Connected.’” Despite the companies’ claims that customers must be “pro active,” customers told NBC News that in some cases, their service was cancelled even after they received emailed notices from the companies pledging that their service would be maintained throughout the crisis. In a separate report, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the Spectrum cable company cut off one Ohio woman from her service while she was in the middle of telehealth medical appointment. But the FCC, according to the NBC report, has largely shrugged off the complaints, claiming that they simply “reflect increased attention on the FCC's work to keep people connected.” But the FCC statement also acknowledged that the commission does not even keep records of customer disconnections. "Promises made not to cut off essential communications service during this time need to be kept," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who opposed net neutrality repeal, told NBC News. "The FCC needs to investigate every complaint for consumers who unfairly lose their service and help fix it fast." Photo By Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons