North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, has voted in support of H.R. 4596, the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, which she says will benefit the Nicholville Telephone Company.

The legislation intends to “protect small businesses from burdensome requirements in the FCC’s Open Internet Order that affects smaller Internet Service Providers,” a statement from Stefanik’s office said.

“This legislation also increases the threshold to protect more small internet service providers that have up to 250,000 subscribers, an increase from 100,000,” the announcement said.

The measure passed the house by on a vote of 411 to 0.

The FCC says its Open Internet Order “means consumers will demand more and better broadband as they enjoy new lawful Internet services, applications and content, and broadband providers cannot block, throttle, or create special "fast lanes" for that content. The FCC's Open Internet rules protect and maintain open, uninhibited access to legal online content without broadband Internet access providers being allowed to block, impair, or establish fast/slow lanes to lawful content.”

“Expanding access to rural broadband is critical to ensuring the North Country can compete in a 21st Century economy,” said Stefanik. “This bipartisan legislation protects our local internet service providers from burdensome FCC requirements, helping North Country families and businesses’ access to broadband service.”