The FCC is once again under fire, this time for gutting rules protecting users from losing access to their fixed-line broadband connections as companies like AT&T and Verizon shift their focus to wireless. As we've long noted, Verizon and AT&T have refused to upgrade millions of DSL customers they're no longer interested in. So for years they've been convincing states to gut regulations governing these highly-taxpayer subsidized lines, arguing that wireless connectivity will be "good enough" for many of these users.

But critics charge wireless still isn't a real substitute for fixed line connections, especially in more rural areas with spotty cellular coverage.

So you might recall that the FCC under Tom Wheeler crafted a set of rules to ensure that when these telcos yank fixed-line DSL service from these markets, consumers aren't left in a lurch with only spotty and more expensive wireless. That was a notable problem in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, when Verizon refused to repair damaged DSL lines, instead offering users wireless service customers say wasn't a suitable replacement.

With AT&T and Verizon eager to shift their focus to media, advertising and wireless, they've been lobbying the FCC pretty relentlessly to abolish these guidelines. And with former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai now at the helm of the FCC, he seems very keen to oblige. As Ars Technica observes:

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Pai's proposal, titled "Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment," would eliminate the functional test, claiming that it "deterred and delayed carriers from upgrading their networks."

But without the functional test, carriers could declare that an area is served with technology that's good enough as long as mobile service is available, consumer advocates say. Carriers wouldn't have to provide fiber, and they wouldn't even have to provide fixed wireless services, which beam signals to antennas on people's houses and provide a more stable connection than mobile service.

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Subsequently, sixteen senators also wrote a letter to the FCC expressing concern at the agency's plans to abandon the rules. Companies like AT&T have been very successful convincing states like Kentucky that if they eliminate the consumer protections governing these taxpayer-subsidized lines, miraculous broadband utopia will somehow spring from the cracks. In reality, groups like Public Knowledge, the NAACP, and the AARP have long argued the end result is going to be serious problems for folks that would prefer their DSL and POTS lines keep working.

"Under current rules, an incumbent carrier cannot discontinue, reduce, or impair service unless there is a replacement service that is as good as the discontinued service," notes a consumer coalition. And while the FCC is effectively gutting these protections, Ars notes that the FCC is playing word games to try and pretend that's not actually happening. The full Ars writeup of this latest FCC gift to the telcos is well worth a read.