(1) Increased deployment and adoption of 
broadband, 
including 
high-bandwidth 
uses 
of 
broadband, is key to allow broadband stimulus funds 
to produce maximal economic recovery and growth, 
and is key to the network effects of economic benefit 
associated with the Internet. 
(2) No volume usage service plan for broadband 
Internet access can be just and reasonable unless 
charges are fairly based on the cost of the usage. 
(3) Volume usage charges for broadband Inter-
net access that are substantially above cost in a 
market without sufficient competition constitute an 
unfair and unconscionable practice, as substantially 
above-cost pricing has anti-competitive and anti-con-
sumer effects on Internet use, including in particular 
Internet use for online video delivery. 
(4) The market for video delivery is effectively 
controlled by companies operating both traditional 
cable delivery and broadband Internet access serv-
ices, increasing incentives to raise prices for Internet 
use in high volumes, to discourage consumers who 
may wish no longer to subscribe to traditional cable 
services. 
(5) The Federal Trade Commission Act author-
izes the Federal Trade Commission to investigate 
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and remedy consumer pricing practices that it deter-
mines to be unfair or anti-competitive, including 
pricing practices by Internet service providers, as 
Internet services are not provided on a common car-
rier basis and therefore are not subject to the com-
mon carrier limitation on Federal Trade Commission 
jurisdiction. 
SEC. 3. UNJUST, UNREASONABLE, OR UNREASONABLY DIS-
CRIMINATORY 
VOLUME 
USAGE 
SERVICE 
PLANS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for major 
broadband Internet service providers to offer volume usage 
service plans imposing rates, terms, and conditions that 
are unjust, unreasonable, or unreasonably discriminatory. 
(b) SERVICE PLAN ANALYSIS FILING REQUIRED.— 
Major broadband Internet service providers offering, or 
proposing to offer, volume usage service plans to any por-
tion of their service territory are required to file with the 
Federal Trade Commission a service plan analysis that— 
(1) identifies the different service tiers of 
broadband Internet service to be offered on the basis 
of different data transmission volumes; 
(2) specifies the different rates, terms, and con-
ditions to be imposed for such tiers; 
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(3) provides an analysis of the economic reason-
ableness and necessity for imposing such tiers— 
(A) based on assigning the capital costs of 
deploying the facilities needed to provide such 
different service tiers; 
(B) based on assigning different operating 
costs, if any, that are attributable to the provi-
sion of different service tiers; or 
(C) based on other factors and costs speci-
fied by the provider as a justification for the 
proposed volume usage service plan; 
(4) assess the impact of such service tiers on 
the ability of residential consumers to access widely 
used Internet services, including uses for agricul-
tural, medical, educational, environmental, library, 
and nonprofit purposes; and 
(5) specifies the basis upon which the different 
rates of charges under the service plan will be re-
vised over the following 3 years, and inflation factors 
or other variables that will be used to calculate or 
limit such revisions. 
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION. 
(a) ENFORCEMENT BY FTC.—The Commission shall, 
in consultation with the Federal Communications Com-
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mission, review each service plan analysis submitted under 
section 3(b) in order to determine whether the volume 
usage service plan is in violation of section 3(a). A viola-
tion of section 3(a) shall be treated as a violation of a 
rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre-
scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57(a)(1)(B)). The Federal 
Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in the same man-
ner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction 
as though all applicable terms and provision of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made 
a part of this Act. 
(b) REVIEW AND REMEDIATION.—After an initial re-
view of any service plan analysis submitted under section 
3(b), if the Commission identifies any elements of such 
plan that appear to constitute a violation of section 3(a), 
the Commission shall notify the provider submitting such 
plan of such elements and of the steps the provider may 
take to correct such violations. The Commission shall, 
prior to initiating any action under subsection (e), review 
the steps taken by the provider to correct such violations. 
(c) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining whether 
a major broadband Internet service provider has violated 
section 3(a), the Commission, in consultation with the 
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Federal Communications Commission, shall take into ac-
count, among other factors— 
(1) whether the service plan analysis filed with 
the Commission does not properly assign operating 
costs to each of the service tiers within the volume 
usage service plan; 
(2) whether the rates, terms, and conditions are 
not justified by the costs of deploying or operating 
the facilities required to provide and maintain the 
service tiers within the volume usage service plan; 
(3) whether the volume usage service plan im-
poses unjust, unreasonable, or unreasonably dis-
criminatory charges on residential consumers; 
(4) whether the volume usage service plan de-
ters or impedes— 
(A) the deployment of and access to widely 
used Internet applications and services; or 
(B) the participation of residential con-
sumers in the growth and development of re-
gional, national, and international economies; 
(5) whether the volume usage service plan un-
fairly penalizes consumers choosing to use high 
bandwidth Internet applications and services, includ-
ing those used for one-way or two-way video; 
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(6) whether the volume usage service plan has 
anti-competitive effects on the market for video de-
livery or the markets for Internet applications or 
services; 
(7) whether the volume usage service plan im-
poses anti-consumer rates, terms, or conditions that 
reflect insufficient competition in the local market 
for broadband Internet services; or 
(8) whether the volume usage service plan fails 
to comply with such other factors as the Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Federal Communica-
tions Commission, determines to be appropriate as 
set forth in the rules prescribed under section 5. 
(d) HEARINGS.—As a component of its review of each 
plan submitted under subsection (a), the Commission 
shall, after the provider submitting such plan has had an 
opportunity to take steps under subsection (b) to correct 
any violations identified by the Commission in its notice 
to the provider under such subsection, provide for the con-
duct of a public hearing by a Commissioner or other des-
ignated employee of the Commission, and for the collection 
of public comment and testimony with respect to such 
plan. Such hearing shall be conducted in a such a commu-
nity or communities in such State or States as the Com-
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mission determines are most directly affected by the vol-
ume usage service plan. 
(e) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 
(1) Notwithstanding the penalties set forth 
under the Federal Trade Commission Act, any 
major broadband Internet service provider who vio-
lates section 3(a) shall be subject to injunctive relief 
requiring the broadband Internet service provider 
proposing or offering such plan to suspend, termi-
nate, or revise such plan. 
(2) In addition to injunctive relief, any major 
broadband Internet service provider who violates sec-
tion 3(a) may be subject to a fine of not more than 
$1,000,000, as the Commission determines is re-
quired to ensure ongoing compliance with this Act. 
SEC. 5. COMMISSION RULEMAKING REQUIRED. 
Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Commission shall, by rule prescribed in accord-
ance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, estab-
lish procedures for the review of volume usage service 
plans and for the conduct of public hearings pursuant to 
the requirements of this Act. 
SEC. 6. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the 
authority of the Commission to bring enforcement actions 
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or take other measures under the Federal Trade Commis-
sion Act or any other provision of law. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
(2) BROADBAND
INTERNET
SERVICE.—The 
term ‘‘broadband Internet service’’ means an Inter-
net protocol-based transmission service that enables 
users to send and receive voice, video, data, graph-
ics, or a combination thereof. 
(3) BROADBAND
INTERNET
SERVICE
PRO-
VIDER.—The term ‘‘broadband Internet service pro-
vider’’ means any person who provides or offers to 
provide broadband Internet service, either directly or 
through an affiliate. 
(4) MAJOR
BROADBAND
INTERNET
SERVICE 
PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘major broadband Internet 
service provider’’ means a broadband Internet serv-
ice provider that, either directly or through an affil-
iate, 
provides 
broadband 
Internet 
service 
to 
2,000,000 or more subscribers, as further defined by 
the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to 
section 5. 
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(5) VOLUME USAGE SERVICE PLAN.—The term 
‘‘volume usage service plan’’ means any choice of 
broadband Internet service offerings to a residential 
consumer that includes two or more different sets of 
rates, terms, or conditions that are directly or indi-
rectly based upon the amount of data actually trans-
mitted to or from the consumer within a fixed period 
of time. 
(6) RESIDENTIAL CONSUMER.—The term ‘‘resi-
dential consumer’’ includes any individual consumer 
who subscribes to broadband Internet services pri-
marily for purposes other than a for-profit business 
purpose, and includes subscribers that are nonprofit 
organizations or institutions of higher education. 
(b) COMMON TERMINOLOGY.—Except as otherwise 
provided in subsection (a), terms used in this Act have 
the meanings provided under section 3 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) and section 602 of such 
Act (47 U.S.C. 522). 
Æ 
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