43
§ 706 without reclassifying broadband.” US Telecom Pet’rs’
Br. 54 (internal citations omitted). But the Commission did
not believe it could do so. Specifically, the Commission
found it necessary to establish three bright-line rules, the antiblocking, anti-throttling, and anti-paid-prioritization rules,
2015 Open Internet Order, 30 FCC Rcd. at 5607 ¶ 14, all of
which impose per se common carrier obligations by requiring
broadband providers to offer indiscriminate service to edge
providers, see Verizon, 740 F.3d at 651–52. “[I]n light of
Verizon,” the Commission explained, “absent a classification
of broadband providers as providing a ‘telecommunications
service,’ the Commission could only rely on section 706 to
put in place open Internet protections that steered clear of
regulating broadband providers as common carriers per se.”
2015 Open Internet Order, 30 FCC Rcd. at 5614 ¶ 42. This,
in our view, represents a perfectly “good reason” for the
Commission’s change in position.
Raising an additional argument, US Telecom asserts that
reclassification “will undermine” investment in broadband.
US Telecom Pet’rs’ Br. 54. The partial dissent agrees,
pointing specifically to 47 U.S.C. § 207, which subjects Title
II common carriers to private complaints. Concurring &
Dissenting Op. at 24. The Commission, however, reached a
different conclusion with respect to reclassification’s impact
on broadband investment. It found that “Internet traffic is
expected to grow substantially in the coming years,” driving
investment, 2015 Open Internet Order, 30 FCC Rcd. at 5792
¶ 412; that Title II regulation had not stifled investment when
applied in other circumstances, id. at 5793–94 ¶ 414; and that
“major infrastructure providers have indicated that they will
in fact continue to invest under the [Title II] framework,” id.
at 5795 ¶ 416. In any event, the Commission found that the
virtuous cycle—spurred by the open internet rules—provides
an ample counterweight, in that any harmful effects on
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