After Democrats won two Senate runoff races in Georgia to win control of the Senate, policy experts see a range of changes on the horizon for tech and telecom, including the reclassification of broadband at the Federal Communications Commission and the return of net neutrality.

Prior to the runoff races, some thought President-elect Joe Biden could encounter significant partisan gridlock with the possibility of a Republican-controlled Senate looming. With current Republican Chairman Ajit Pai leaving the FCC later this month, the commission will be left with a 2-2 partisan split. Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff who now works as a policy adviser at New Street Research, warned in December 2020 that with a Republican-controlled Senate, Democrats might not ever control the agency under Biden.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, seen here with President-elect Joe Biden, will cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate. Source: Biden Campaign

However, the odds of a new Democratic chairman getting confirmed by the Senate just went up significantly following a blue sweep in Georgia. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, according to multiple outlets, meaning the Senate will stand at 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast tie-breaking votes, giving Democrats the majority.

Net neutrality

In a Jan. 6 note to investors, Levin said he sees the possibility of a number of significant policy changes on the horizon, including the the reclassification of broadband as a Title II telecommunications service. The move would restore more regulatory authority to the FCC over broadband service providers like Comcast Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and Charter Communications Inc.

In 2015, a Democratic-led FCC passed an order that classified broadband as a Title II telecommunications service. The 2015 order also laid out three bright-line net neutrality rules that prohibited broadband service providers from blocking or throttling legal internet traffic or prioritizing certain traffic for payment.

In 2018, under Republican leadership, the FCC repealed the 2015 order, classifying broadband as a Title I information service and eliminating the FCC's authority to impose net neutrality rules.

Levin did note, however, that he does not expect the increased regulatory authority to lead to broadband rate regulation and forced unbundling, where new entrants would be able to deliver service over the existing networks of incumbent players.

Antitrust

Turning to the implications in Congress, Levin wrote that "the odds of a bill addressing antitrust and big tech, which has both institutional and public bi-partisan support, have just gone up."

After a 16-month antitrust investigation, a U.S. House subcommittee released a detailed report in October 2020, backed by House Democrats, that accused major online platforms of having monopoly power and recommended structural separations of certain businesses.

As part of recommendations to restore competition in the digital economy, the subcommittee recommended that "Congress consider legislation that draws on two mainstay tools of the antimonopoly toolkit: structural separation and line of business restrictions."

While the report was Democratic-led, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who serves on the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, expressed an openness to working with Democrats on reining in big tech.

"While I do not support the recommendations presented in the subcommittee's majority report, I fully support and am open to working with [Democratic] Chairman Cicilline to find a solution that reins in Big Tech and their anticompetitive behavior," Buck said, following the release of the report.

Infrastructure

Levin also believes that the results increase the chances of an infrastructure bill getting traction in Congress.

"From an FCC perspective, the results would lead to ... an FCC and Congress more likely to address ... the unstable funding base for universal service," wrote Levin.

Through its Universal Service Fund, the FCC helps fund universal access to telecommunications services in rural, low-income and hard-to-reach areas.

Both Democrats on the commission, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, have called on the FCC to more effectively target "scarce" Universal Service Fund dollars in the future.

Reacting to the presidential election results in December 2020, Doug Brake, director of broadband and spectrum policy at the nonpartisan public policy think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, told S&P Global Market Intelligence that he also sees an opportunity to act on an infrastructure bill that addresses rural broadband funding.

"I think that there's a recognition that there's a real possibility for an infrastructure package that includes broadband coming from Congress," he said.