ISP

ISP is an abbreviation for Internet service provider. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is an entity that supplies broadband service to subscribers. Broadband refers to services that provide high-speed Internet access. In the United States, ISPs are regulated at the federal level by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and at the state level. The largest ISPs in the United States include AT&T Internet Services, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Comcast High Speed Internet (Xfinity), and Verizon High Speed Internet.

In the early years of the Internet, most end users connected through dial-up service over local telephone lines. For more than two decades, ISPs were regulated as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Common carriers had to furnish communication service upon reasonable request, avoid unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges or practices, and charge just and reasonable rates. The law distinguished basic services from enhanced services. Enhanced services involved offerings that used computer processing to act on the content, code, or protocol of subscriber information. Although ISPs offered basic transmission rather than enhanced services, they were treated as common carriers under Title II.

Most Internet access today is provided by broadband services that offer high-speed communications, often through cable modem technology. The principle of “net neutrality” refers to the idea that ISPs should not interfere with the ability of end users or websites to access content on the Internet.

Historical and Recent Developments on the Federal Regulation of ISPs

At the federal level, the FCC has jurisdiction over all interstate and foreign communications by wire or radio. Its authority derives from the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Both statutes aim to promote competition and technological innovation. Competition remains central in debates about the ability of ISPs to control access to online content, often under the label of net neutrality.

The 1934 Act empowered the FCC to regulate interstate and foreign communication by wire and radio. Congress intended to provide consumer protection in a market characterized by monopoly and consolidation, conditions that continue to affect the ISP sector. Although the 1996 Act updated the regulatory framework, the FCC continues to draw much of its authority from the 1934 Act. Several titles provide rulemaking power for different communications services. Title I grants ancillary jurisdiction, allowing the FCC to act broadly when necessary to carry out its functions. The 1996 Act distinguished information services from telecommunications services. Telecommunications services remained subject to regulation; information services were largely exempt. The Act did not conclusively classify Internet access as either category, leaving regulatory status ambiguous for years.

During the early growth of the Internet, the FCC treated many broadband ISPs as exempt from Title II regulation. In 2002, the agency determined in the “Cable Modem Order” that cable broadband service was an interstate information service. Cable ISPs were therefore not telecommunications carriers and were exempt from Title II. The Supreme Court confirmed the FCC’s interpretation in the 2005 decision National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n v. Brand X Internet Services. The Court deferred to the FCC’s view that cable broadband providers offer a single integrated information service even if they own transmission infrastructure. The FCC later classified DSL and wireless broadband providers as information service providers as well, removing them from Title II obligations.

Under the Obama Administration, the FCC reclassified broadband Internet access in 2015 as a telecommunications service and adopted net neutrality rules that prohibited blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. This brought ISPs under Title II common-carrier regulation. In United States Telecom Association v. FCC (2016) the D.C. Circuit upheld that reclassification and the accompanying regulations.

In 2017, under the Trump Administration, the FCC repealed the 2015 rules and restored broadband to its prior Title I “information service” classification.

In April of 2024 the FCC again voted to reclassify broadband Internet access service (BIAS) as a telecommunications service and to reinstate “bright-line” net neutrality and open Internet rules similar to those adopted in 2015. The reinstated rules prohibited blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, and added a general conduct standard including transparency requirements. The FCC justified these changes in part on public safety, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and network reliability grounds. The new rules were scheduled to take effect July 22, 2024.

That regulatory return was short-lived. On January 2, 2025 the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Sixth Circuit) in Ohio Telecom Association v. FCC unanimously struck down the FCC’s 2024 order. The Court ruled that broadband ISPs offer only an “information service” under the Communications Act and that the FCC lacks statutory authority to classify them as telecommunications services. The Court also overturned any classification of mobile broadband as a “commercial mobile service.” The Court relied in part on the recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), which ended the long-standing doctrine of Chevron deference, meaning courts would no longer defer automatically to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. As a result of the ruling, federal net neutrality rules are invalid under current law. State-level net neutrality laws and regulations remain in effect where enacted.

[Last reviewed in November of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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