D INA T ITUS 
M EMBER OF C ONGRESS 
I ST DISTRICT NEVADA 
CON GRESS OF THE UNITED STATES 
H OUSE OF REPRESENTA TIV ES 
W ASH INGTON, 0.C. 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 li11 St. SW 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
August 8, 2016 
Dear Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners of the FCC: 
COMMITTEE ON 
TRANSPORTATION & 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
COMMITTEE ON 
VETERANS' AFFAIRS 
I write to share my thoughts about the FCC' s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) 
on business data services. 
Millions of consumers depend on business data services (BDS) in their daily lives: when they 
withdraw cash from an ATM machine, visit a major retailer, use their smartphones, or start their 
workday on.line. It is an essential service, particularly for rural communjties that rely on a 
broadband connection to support their businesses and stay connected. 
As the Commission approaches this rulemaking proceeding, it must strike a balance between 
ensuring businesses have access to a multitude of carriers and competitive prices for BDS and 
preserving incentives for continued network investment. The Commission must encourage 
competition by cable providers, competitive exchange carriers, wireless backhaul providers, and 
other new entrants whose investments can ultimately limit the places where continued regulation 
is necessary. 
I have concerns, however, that such proposals to change regulation of the BDS market do not 
accurately recognize the cuITent extent of competition in the business data services market. 
Nearly 500 companies reported providing business data services across the country in the 2013 
data collection. The BDS market has grown exponentially, even in the last several years since the 
FCC's industry data collection in 2013. Cable companies have invested more in fiber fac ilities 
and electronics for delivery of high speed data and voice services and have deployed fiber 
connections to new locations. 
In his peer review of the white paper used as the basis for the proposed regulations, Professor 
Andrew Sweeting states that "partly because of the limitations of the data available, the results 
should be interpreted with some caution (as Dr. Rysman himself suggests in his conclusions), as 
it is possible that he is either under or overestimating the magnihtde of market power." 
550 E CHARLESTON S UITE BLAS VEGAS NV 89104 • 702 220 9823 
www.titus.house.gov 
twitter.com/RepDinaTitus 
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When there is demonstrated market failure, rate regulation can be an important and useful 
consumer protection tool. In the context ofBDS services, however, I do not believe this is 
necessarily the case. I respectfully request that the Commission not rush into changes to BDS 
regulation in areas where competition is already working to moderate the market. 
I hope that the FCC will consider alternatives that will simultaneously encourage economic 
development and benefit consumers in my state. Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
~~ 
Dina Titus 
Member of Congress