SB743,1,3 1An Act to create 100.80 of the statutes; relating to: requirements and
2prohibited practices for Internet service providers and granting rule-making
3authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill prohibits a provider of broadband Internet access service (BIAS) from
doing any of the following:
1. Blocking lawful content, applications, or services or devices that do not harm
the network.
2. Throttling lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, application, or
service or use of a device that does not harm the network.
3. Engaging in paid prioritization, which is the favoring of some Internet traffic
over other traffic in exchange for some form of consideration.
4. Unreasonably interfering with or unreasonably disadvantaging an end
user's ability to select, access, and use BIAS or an edge provider's ability to make
lawful content, applications, services, and devices available to end users. An edge
provider is someone who provides any content, application, or service over the
Internet, or a device used for accessing any Internet content, application, or service.
5. Engaging in any unjust or unreasonable charge, practice, classification, or
regulation.
6. Making any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices,
classifications, regulations, facilities, or services or subjecting any particular person,
class of persons, or locality to any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage
or prejudice or disadvantage.

7. Using, disclosing, or permitting access to any individually identifiable
customer proprietary network information except in the provision of the BIAS or
related service.
The bill also requires a BIAS provider to disclose commercial terms, which must
include information on pricing, other fees, and data caps and allowances, and to
disclose network performance characteristics, which must include information
regarding packet loss. In addition, the bill requires a BIAS provider to make its
services and equipment accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Finally, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection to create and implement a complaint process for responding to violations
of the bill's provisions.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB743,1 1Section 1. 100.80 of the statutes is created to read:
SB743,2,2 2100.80 Internet service providers. (1) Definitions. In this section:
SB743,2,103 (a) “Broadband Internet access service” means a mass-market retail service
4by wire or radio, including both fixed and mobile service, that provides the capability
5to transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all Internet endpoints,
6including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the
7communications service, but excluding dial-up Internet access service. “ Broadband
8Internet access service” includes any service that the department determines is
9providing a functional equivalent of the service described in the previous sentence,
10or that is used to evade the provisions of this section.
SB743,2,1211 (b) “Content, applications, or services” includes all traffic transmitted to or
12from end users of a broadband Internet access service.
SB743,3,413 (c) “Customer proprietary network information” means information that
14relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and
15amount of use of broadband Internet access service subscribed to by a customer and

1that is made available to the broadband Internet access service provider by the
2customer solely by virtue of the provider-customer relationship; and information
3contained in the bills pertaining to the broadband Internet access service received
4by the customer; except that such term does not include subscriber list information.
SB743,3,75 (d) “Edge provider” means any individual or entity that provides any content,
6application, or service over the Internet and any individual or entity that provides
7a device used for accessing any content, application, or service over the Internet.
SB743,3,98 (e) “End user” means any individual or entity that uses broadband Internet
9access service.
SB743,3,1510 (f) “Paid prioritization” means the management of a broadband provider's
11network to directly or indirectly favor some traffic over other traffic, including
12through use of techniques such as traffic shaping, prioritization, resource
13reservation, or other forms of preferential traffic management, in exchange for
14consideration, monetary or otherwise, from a 3rd party or to benefit an affiliated
15entity.
SB743,3,2016 (g) “Reasonable network management” means a practice that has a primarily
17technical network management justification but that does not include other business
18practices, and that is primarily used for and tailored to achieving a legitimate
19network management purpose, taking into account the particular network
20architecture and technology of the broadband Internet access service.
SB743,3,22 21(2) Prohibitions. A person engaged in the provision of broadband Internet
22access service may not do any of the following:
SB743,4,223 (a) Block lawful content, applications, or services, or devices that do not harm
24the network, except as needed for reasonable network management, or charge a fee

1to an edge provider to avoid having the edge provider's lawful content, service,
2application, or nonharmful device blocked.
SB743,4,83 (b) Impair, degrade, slow down, or render effectively unusable lawful Internet
4traffic on the basis of content, application, or service, or use of a device that does not
5harm the network, except as needed for reasonable network management, or charge
6a fee to an edge provider to avoid having the edge provider's lawful content, service,
7application, or nonharmful device impaired, degraded, slowed down, or rendered
8effectively unusable.
SB743,4,129 (c) Engage in paid prioritization. This paragraph does not apply to a petitioner
10who requests a waiver from the department if the department determines that the
11proposed practice would provide some significant public interest benefit and would
12not harm the open nature of the Internet.
SB743,4,1713 (d) Unreasonably interfere with or unreasonably disadvantage end users'
14ability to select, access, and use broadband Internet access service or the lawful
15content, applications, services, and devices of their choice and edge providers' ability
16to make lawful content, applications, services, and devices available to end users,
17except as needed for reasonable network management.
SB743,4,2018 (e) Engage in any unjust or unreasonable charge, practice, classification, or
19regulation, except that this paragraph does not apply to any charge, practice,
20classification, or regulation that the department has exempted by rule.
SB743,5,221 (f) Make any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices,
22classifications, regulations, facilities, or services for or in connection with like
23communication service, directly or indirectly, by any means or device; make or give
24any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class

1of persons, or locality; or subject any particular person, class of persons, or locality
2to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.
SB743,5,83 (g) Use, disclose, or permit access to individually identifiable customer
4proprietary network information except in the provision of the broadband Internet
5access service to the customer or in the provision of services necessary to, or used in,
6the provision of such service to the customer, including the publishing of directories,
7unless such use, disclosure, or access is required by law or is approved in writing by
8the customer.
SB743,5,10 9(3) Requirements. A person engaged in the provision of broadband Internet
10access service shall do all of the following:
SB743,5,1511 (a) Disclose, in a timely manner, prominently, in plain language, and in a way
12that is accessible to current and prospective end users and edge providers, to the
13department, and to 3rd parties who wish to monitor the provider's practices,
14accurate information on all of the following, in addition to any other information
15required to be disclosed under state or federal law:
SB743,5,1716 1. Commercial terms, including pricing, other fees, and data caps and
17allowances.
SB743,5,2218 2. Network performance characteristics, including information regarding
19packet loss, that is reasonably related to the performance the consumer would likely
20experience in the geographic area in which the consumer is purchasing the service,
21measured in terms of average performance over a reasonable period of time and
22during times of peak usage.
SB743,5,2323 (b) Make its services and equipment accessible to individuals with disabilities.
SB743,6,3
1(4) Complaint process. The department shall create and administer a process
2to allow parties to file complaints relating to violations of this section and for
3investigating and responding to complaints.
SB743,6,5 4(5) Rules. The department may promulgate rules to implement and enforce
5the provisions of this section.
SB743,6,66 (End)
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