Wheeler Says FCC not Delaying Action Due to Case, Hopes for Lifeline Vote Soon, Defends Small Business Order

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler suggested the agency isn't holding off on regulatory actions while its net neutrality and broadband reclassification order is being litigated in court. Asked by a reporter Thursday about such possible delays, Wheeler said, "No, we think that we're on strong grounds in the court." Speaking at the agency's press conference, he said FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet and agency attorney Jacob Lewis "did exemplary jobs" at the Dec. 4 oral argument in the case. He said he listened to an audio recording of the argument and is "confident that the open Internet rules have a good future ahead of them." Wheeler also said he hopes the FCC can approve a Lifeline USF modernization order early next year. The agency has proposed to extend Lifeline low-income support to broadband and to revamp program administration. Asked if he was open to making permanent the net neutrality order's temporary small-business exemption from broadband provider enhanced disclosure rules, which the FCC just extended by one year, Wheeler said: "Let's base it on facts, rather than on suppositions; so let's see what we get in terms of the data." At their news conference, Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly criticized the FCC's one-year extension order on both substantive and process grounds. Pai said there wasn't evidence in the record to justify imposing the enhanced rules on small broadband providers.