Although Comcast complied with the Order, it now petitions for review, presenting three objections. First, it contends that the Commission has failed to justify exercising jurisdiction over its network management practices. Second, it argues that the Commission’s adjudicatory action was procedurally flawed because it circumvented the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and violated the notice requirements of the Due Process Clause. Finally, it asserts that parts of the Order are so poorly reasoned as to be arbitrary and capricious. We begin—and end—with Comcast’s jurisdictional challenge.

STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS ON THE COMCAST V. FCC DECISION

“Today’s decision is not just a blow to the FCC—it's a blow to all Americans who rely on an open Internet that serves all comers without discrimination. Since 2002, I have warned about the dangers of moving the transmission component of broadband outside of the statutory framework that applies to telecommunications carriers. The only way the Commission can make lemonade out of this lemon of a decision is to do now what should have been done years ago: treat broadband as the telecommunications service that it is.

“In tasking the FCC with creating the National Broadband Plan, Congress and the Administration recognized that broadband is critical for the economic success of this country. We are dealing with a broadband information ecosystem where many parts come together to form a complex, synergistic and interdependent whole. My criticism today is not of the Court, but of my own FCC for the bad policy choices it has made. It is time that we stop doing the “ancillary authority” dance and instead rely on the statute Congress gave us to stand on solid legal ground in safeguarding the benefits of the Internet for American consumers. We should straighten this broadband classification mess out before the first day of summer.”

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