April 2024 Open Meeting Agenda

Yesterday, I welcomed internet pioneer Vint Cerf to the FCC for a far-ranging conversation in a room full of Commission staff. He spoke about how the internet’s open architecture enabled other inventors like Tim Berners-Lee to introduce the World Wide Web without asking anyone’s permission. In three weeks, the Commission will gather in that same meeting room to vote on rules to make sure the open design that has been so critical to the internet’s past will be preserved in the future. Here’s everything we have lined up for our April Open Meeting.

• We’re promoting a fast, open, and fair internet. Net neutrality preserves internet openness by prohibiting internet providers from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing lawful content. The Commission will vote on rules to restore the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular net neutrality protections that were repealed in 2017 and bring back a national framework of internet standards. By re-classifying broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act, the new rules will also reassert the FCC’s role as the country’s leading communications watchdog, empowered to protect consumers, national security, and public safety on our essential broadband networks.
• We’re improving access to life-saving services. With the introduction of 988 as the easy-to-remember 3-digit number for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we’ve more than tripled the number of people using the hotline to connect with emergency counseling. But 80% of those calls come from wireless numbers, and with the current network design it can be challenging to receive help from close by. To further enhance this life-saving service, the Commission will consider a proposal to update the 988 Lifeline’s area-code-based routing system and harness the power of “georouting” technology to make sure wireless callers are connected with counselors in their local community.
• We will also consider seven actions from our Enforcement Bureau.

—Jessica