ACA Lauds 2011 FCC Broadband Transparency Guidance, Seeks Its Use for 2015 Enhanced Rules

rule's network performance disclosure requirements in a 2010 net neutrality order, ACA said in a Tuesday filing in docket 14-28 about its meeting with FCC staffers. The group said smaller providers particularly appreciated a clarification that a "broadband provider may disclose actual performance based on internal testing, consumer speed test data, or other data regarding network performance, including reliable, relevant data from third-party sources such as the broadband performance measurement project” (citing from the guidance). That allowed smaller ISPs to comply with the requirement to disclose network performance with greater certainty and without straining limited resources, it said. On the general network management practices of smaller cable ISPs, ACA said: "Since they understand that traffic is almost certain to continue to increase, ISPs will often engineer their networks to handle a traffic load that is significantly above 100% of advertised performance," noting providers will upgrade capacity if they see congestion emerging. The FCC should affirm the 2011 guidance applies to the 2015 enhanced transparency requirements, said the ACA, continuing to urge the agency to make permanent a temporary small provider exemption to those new rules. Among those meeting with Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Wireline bureau and Office of Strategic Policy staff were ACA Chairman Robert Gessner, Shentel Senior Vice President-Operations Tom Whitaker and Shurz Communications CEO Bryan Lynch.