April  26,  2017     The  Honorable  Ajit  Pai   Chairman   Federal  Communications  Commission   445  12th  Street  SW   Washington,  DC  20554     Chairman  Pai:     As  a  group  of  startups,  entrepreneurs,  investors,  and  the  organizations  who  support  them   from  all  50  states,  we  were  excited  to  hear  about  your  recent  regional  tour  with  startups   and  innovators  and  learn  about  your  plans  to  drive  better,  faster  broadband  deployment   across  the  U.S.       During  your  tour,  you  noted  that  "High-­‐speed  Internet  access,  or  broadband,  is  giving  rise   to  what  I  have  called  the  democratization  of  entrepreneurship.  With  a  powerful  plan  and  a   digital  connection,  you  can  raise  capital,  start  a  business,  immediately  reach  a  worldwide   customer  base,  and  disrupt  an  entire  industry."  We  couldn’t  agree  more.  Each  of  our   businesses  is  an  example  of  the  sort  of  innovation  and  investment  that  meaningful   broadband  access  has  fueled.     But  the  success  of  America’s  startup  ecosystem  depends  on  more  than  improved   broadband  speeds.  We  also  depend  on  an  open  Internet—including  enforceable  net   neutrality  rules  that  ensure  big  cable  companies  can’t  discriminate  against  people  like  us.   We’re  deeply  concerned  with  your  intention  to  undo  the  existing  legal  framework.     Without  net  neutrality,  the  incumbents  who  provide  access  to  the  Internet  would  be  able  to   pick  winners  or  losers  in  the  market.  They  could  impede  traffic  from  our  services  in  order   to  favor  their  own  services  or  established  competitors.  Or  they  could  impose  new  tolls  on   us,  inhibiting  consumer  choice.  Those  actions  directly  impede  an  entrepreneur’s  ability  to   “start  a  business,  immediately  reach  a  worldwide  customer  base,  and  disrupt  an  entire   industry.”  Our  companies  should  be  able  to  compete  with  incumbents  on  the  quality  of  our   products  and  services,  not  our  capacity  to  pay  tolls  to  Internet  access  providers.     Fortunately,  in  2015  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  put  in  place  light  touch  net   neutrality  rules  that  not  only  prohibit  certain  harmful  practices,  but  also  allow  the   Commission  to  develop  and  enforce  rules  to  address  new  forms  of  discrimination.  We  are   concerned  by  reports  that  you  would  replace  this  system  with  a  set  of  minimum  voluntary commitments,  which  would  give  a  green  light  for  Internet  access  providers  to  discriminate   in  unforeseen  ways.     Rather  than  dismantling  regulations  that  allow  the  startup  ecosystem  to  thrive,  we  urge   you  to  focus  instead  on  policies  that  would  promote  a  stronger  Internet  for  everyone.  We   applaud  efforts  to  remove  unnecessary  barriers  to  construction  of  new  networks,  which   would  foster  increased  competition  and  faster,  more  affordable,  open  Internet  access.  We   appreciate  your  consideration  and  stand  at  the  ready  to  provide  insights  that  support  this   work.     Sincerely,     Engine   Techstars   Y  Combinator   San  Francisco,  CA   Boulder,  CO   San  Francisco,  CA   20n   20x200   212MEDIA     San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   New  York,  NY   6  River  Systems   60secondz,  LLC   819,  LLC.   Waltham,  MA   Kansas  City,  KS   Phoenix,  AZ   9  Clouds   9Mile  Labs,  LLC   A  Medium  Corporation   Sioux  Falls,  SD   Seattle,  WA   San  Francisco,  CA   AbiEzzi  Consulting   Accel  Diagnostics     Acceleprise   Boulder,  CO   Pittsburgh,  PA   San  Francisco,  CA   Accountable  HQ,  Inc.   Actify   AcuRapid   Fort  Worth,  TX   San  Francisco,  CA   Thornton,  CO   Adeptus  Inc   AdmitHub   Advance  Ideas,  LLC   Kirkland,  WA   Boston,  MA   Denver,  CO   Aeneas  Internet  and   AdYapper,  Inc.   Affinity  Hive   Telephone   Chicago,  IL   Palo  Alto,  CA   Jackson,  TN   AfterCollege   AgileMD   Aguimedia   San  Francisco,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   Houston,  TX Akido  Labs   Alerje   Alex  Purtell   Los  Angeles,  CA   Detroit,  MI   Columbus,  OH   Alloy   Alnical  LLC   AlphaPoint   New  York,  NY   Tallahassee,  FL   New  York,  NY   Alyeska  Venture   American  Underground   AmigoCloud   Management   Durham,  NC   San  Francisco,  CA   Anchorage,  AK   Analytical  Flavor  Systems,   AmperVue     AngelList   Inc.   Los  Altos,  CA   New  York,  NY   New  York,  NY   ANTLR  Interactive   Anvil  Media   Appboy   Pittsburgh,  PA   Portland,  OR   New  York,  NY   Appetas   appliedVR,  Inc   AppNexus     Seattle,  WA   Los  Angeles,  CA   New  York,  NY   Appsembler   Apptentive   Arch  Systems   Boston,  MA   Seattle,  WA   Mountain  View,  CA   ArcSecond,  Inc.   Are.na   AREA  Accelerator     San  Diego,  CA   New  York,  NY   New  York,  NY   Arkansas  Regional   Argentum  Strategy  Group   ARIN  Technologies   Innovation  Hub   Chicago,  IL   Pittsburgh,  PA   North  Little  Rock,  AR   Articulate  Persuasion   Asha  Labs  Inc   AtCipher  Inc   Austin,  TX   Austin,  TX   Seattle,  WA   Athelas   athenahealth   AthleteProgress,  llc   Mountain  View,  CA   Boston,  MA   Nederland,  Co   Attentive,  Inc   Audiosocket   Augur  Technologies  Inc     Boulder,  CO   New  Orleans,  LA   Boulder,  CO Authentise     Awesome  Inc   Babylon  Sisters  LA   Mountain  View,  CA   Lexington,  KY   Los  Angeles,  CA   Badger  Maps,  Inc.   BarNotes   Beacon  LLC   San  Francisco,  CA   New  Orleans,  LA   Burlington,  VT   Becky  Greenwald  Group   Beek   Benecentive,  Inc.   Perry,  IA   San  Francisco,  CA   Alexandria,  VA   Bento  Technologies,  Inc.   BetaDefense   Betterment   San  Francisco,  CA   Arlington,  VA   New  York,  NY   Bevvy,  Inc.   Beyonic,  Inc.   Binary  Formations,  LLC.   Cheyenne,  WY   Washington,  DC   Mechanicsville,  VA   Biometrica  Systems     BitPlay   Bizible  Inc   Las  Vegas,  NV   Boston,  MA   Seattle,  WA   BlastPoint   BlazingDB   Bleu  Capital   Pittsburgh,  PA   Austin,  TX   New  York,  NY   Bloomers  Edutainment   Blue  Startups   Bluebill  Advisors,  Inc   Venice,  CA   Honolulu,  HI   Boston,  MA   BlueCheck   Bluecore   Board  Assets,  Llc   Austin,  TX   New  York,  NY   Watertown,  MA   Bolt   Bonfire.com   Bonsai   San  Francsico,  CA   Richmond,  VA   San  Francisco,  CA   Bonusly   BoomStartup   Boswell  Inc.   Boulder,  CO   Salt  Lake  City,  UT   Kansas  City,  MO   Botpot   BounceX   Boxouse  Incorporated   Salt  Lake  City,  UT   New  York,  NY   Oakland,  CA Breaker   Breathe   bridge21   San  Francisco,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   Denver,  CO   Bright   Bright  Comma   Brilliant  Worldwide,  Inc.   Chicago,  IL   Austin,  TX   San  Francisco,  CA   Broadband  Development   Brush  Street  Investments,   Brio  Systems,  Inc.   Group,  LLC   LLC   Boston,  MA   Little  Rock,  AR   Detroit,  MI   Bstow,  Inc.   Budgit,  Inc.   Bull  City  Venture  Partners   San  Francisco,  CA   Dallas,  TX   Durham,  NC   BusBot  Incorporated   CalcMonitor   Call  the  Ninja   New  York,  NY   Norman,  OK   Eugene,  OR   Camp  Hookay   CANDL   Cangrade,  Inc   Jackson,  MS   Atlanta,  GA   Cambridge,  MA   Cannabis  Connect   Canopy   Cantora   Portland,  OR   New  York,  NY   New  York,  NY   CapSen  Robotics   Carbon  Robotics   CareTree   Pittsburgh,  PA   San  Francisco,  CA   Chicago,  IL   Cargo  Systems  Inc   CarServ   Casetext,  Inc.   New  York,  NY   Austin,  TX   San  Francisco,  CA   Catalog  Design  Studios  Inc.   Catalog  University   Cava  Capital   Providence,  RI   South  Portland,  ME   New  York,  NY   Center  for  Computational   Center  of  Entrepreneurial   Cerebro  Solutions,  Inc.   Science  Research   Ecosystem  Development     Los  Angeles,  CA   Chicago,  IL   Kansas  City,  KS   Chaldal  Inc.   Chamberlin  Research   Change  Catalyst   San  Mateo,  CA   Little  Rock,  AR   San  Francisco,  CA ChapterSpot   Chute   Circle  Medical   New  Orleans,  LA   San  Francisco,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   CircuitLab   CitiQuants  Corporation   Civic  Ninjas   Palo  Alto,  CA   Miami,  FL   Tulsa,  OK   Civilize   Clarifai   ClearTracks  Media   Rochester,  NY   New  York,  NY   New  York,NY   Clenly   Cloudability   Clyp,  Inc.   Miami,  FL   Portland,  OR   Austin,  TX   COCO   Codapillar  Inc.   Codecademy   Minneapolis,  MN   New  York,  NY   New  York,  NY   CodeCombat   CodeNow   Codeship  Inc.   San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   Boston,  MA   Cole  House  LLC  /  ExplainIt   Collaborative  Seed  and   Cogent  Consulting,  Inc   Studios   Growth  Partners   Minneapolis,  MN   Mendham,  NJ   Weston,  MA   Color  Trips  Animation  LLC   CommonsWare   Conductor   Federal  Way,  WA   Macungie,  PA   New  York,  NY   Confirm   ConnectHealth,  Inc.   Constant  Health  Solutions   Boston,  MA   Bloomington,  IN   Seattle,  WA   Converge  Venture  Partners   Convey  Inc   Convox   Cambridge,  MA   Austin,  TX   Atlanta,  GA   CoolChip  Technologies,  Inc.   Copia  Institute   Corazon  Capital   Somerville,  MA   San  Carlos,  CA   Chicago,  IL   CoreOS,  Inc   Cosmunity   Costanoa  Ventures   San  Francisco,  CA   Dallas,  TX   Palo  Alto,  CA CourseHorse   Cowork  Waldo   Crayon   New  York,  NY   Kansas  City,  MO   Boston,  MA   Cribspot   CrowdMed   Cruising  Lights   Ann  Arbor,  MI   San  Francisco,  CA   Detroit,  MI   Curiosity.com   Cuseum   CUSTOMER  COMMONS   Chicago,  IL   Boston,  MA   Mountain  View,  CA   Cycle  Interactive   Dallas  Entrepreneur  Center   Darling  Inc.   New  Orleans,  LA   Dallas,  TX   Chicago,  IL   DashPorter     DataBlade   Databox,  Inc   Chicago,  IL   Seattle,  WA   Boston,  MA   Dave  Holt  Consulting   DayReel   Dearly  Drawn   Saratoga,  CA   Kansas  City,  MO   St.  Louis,  MO   Deep  6  AI   Deepgram,  Inc.   Degreed   Los  Angeles,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   Dental  Warranty  Corp   DevOps  LLC   Diassess  Inc.   Irving,  TX   Boulder,  CO   Emeryville,  CA   Digital  Muse,  LLC   Digital  Surgeons     Digital4Startups  Inc.   Salem,  NH   New  Haven,  CT   Chicago,  IL   DigitalC   DigitalOcean   Distil  Networks   Cleveland,  OH   New  York,  NY   Arlington,  VA   DKParker,  LLC   DLT  Education   Docker   Seattle,  WA   Oakland,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   Dockwa   doDOC  Corp   Domi  Station   Cambridge,  MA   Boston,  MA   Tallahassee,  FL Dossier   Dragon  Research  Labs   DreamHighr   Brooklyn,  NY   Bainbridge  Island,  WA   Chicago,  IL   Drizzle   DroneSeed   Dwolla   Pasadena,  CA   Seattle,  WA   Des  Moines,  IA   Earbits   Earned   Eastcourt  Studio   Los  Angeles,  CA   Longmont,  CO   Des  Moines,  IA   Eat  Offbeat   Echoworks  Inc   Econic   New  York,  NY   San  Francisco,  CA   Lincoln,  NE   Ecovent   EDAWN   Edge  Up  Sports   Boston,  MA   Reno,  NV   Kansas  City,  MO   EDN,  Inc.   Educreations,  Inc.   Edvisor.io   Denver,  CO   San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   Electronic  Gaming   eezybox   Email  Copilot   Federation   Los  Angeles,  CA   San  Diego,  CA   New  York,  NY   Entrepreneurial   EMichaelMusic.com     EnigmaConsult   Technologies   Nashville,  TN   Benicia,  CA   Urbandale,  IA   Ephemeral  Solutions,  Inc.   ePhysics  LLC   Estate  Map,  LLC   New  York,  NY   Montville,  NJ   Minneapolis,  MN   Etsy   Evensi   Evercoast,  Inc.   New  York,  NY   San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   Evo  Inc   Exaptive,  Inc.   ExtendMed,  Inc.   Wilmington,  DE   Oklahoma  City,  OK   Evanston,  IL   FA  Apps   Fantasmo.io   FarmLogs   San  Francisco,  CA   Santa  Monica,  CA   Ann  Arbor,  MI Farmstead   Fast  FiBR   Fastpath,  Inc   San  Mateo,  CA   Coral  Gables,  FL   Des  Moines,  IA   FEM  Inc.   Fibroblast,  Inc.   Fieldlens   Los  Angeles,  CA   Chicago,  IL   New  York,  NY   Fifty  Years   Filament   Firebrand  Ventures   San  Francisco,  CA   Reno,  NV   Kansas  City,  MO   First  Derm   Fitbot   Flatstack   Berkeley,  CA   Boulder,  CO   New  Orleans,  LA   flexReceipts   Flomio,  Inc.     fog.haus   Orlando,  FL   Miami  Beach,  FL   Nashville,  TN   Fortified  Bicycle     Founder  Academy   Foundry  Group   Boston,  MA   Sacramento,  CA   Boulder,  CO   FoundVR   Foursquare   Fresh  Tilled  Soil   San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   Watertown,  MA   Friendly  Finances,  Inc.   FWD:Everyone   fyiio   San  Francisco,  CA   New  York,  NY   Omaha,  NE   GameCommerce   GAN   Gandi  US   Sunnyvale,  CA   Denver,  CO   San  Francisco,  CA   Garmentory   GeekGirlWeb   gener8tor   Seattle,  WA   New  York,  NY   Milwaukee,  WI   General  Assembly   General  Proximty  LLC   Geonetric   New  York,  NY   Nashville,  TN   Cedar  Rapids,  IA   Geopogo   GerryGGoldbergGroup  LLC   Getty/IO  Inc   Berkeley,  CA   New  York,  NY   Wilmington,  DE GiftPicked4U   GIGAmacro   GitHub   West  Des  Moines,  IA   Napa,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   GiveCampus  Inc.   Giveffect  Inc.   Glasco  Advisors   Washington,  DC   San  Francisco,  CA   Atlanta,  GA   Global  Insurance  Accelerator   Go  Jane  Go,  LLC   GoGo  Technologies,  Inc.   Des  Moines,  IA   Pittsburgh,  PA   Mountain  View,  CA   GOIAN  Inc   GoldFire  Studios   Good  Audience   Atlanta,  GA   Oklahoma  City,  OK   San  Francisco,CA   Good&Co  Inc.     Gorgias   GoSpotCheck   San  Francisco,  CA   San  Francisco,  CA   Denver,  CO   Grace   Grafly  Inc.   GrandBanks  Capital   Santa  Monica,  CA   Chicago,  IL   Needham,  MA   Graph  Story   Gravitate   GroupAhead   Memphis,  TN   Des  Moines,  IA   San  Francisco,  CA   GroupRaise.com,  Inc.   Grow  Digitally   Growth  Geeks   Houston,  TX   Kansas  City,  MO   Chicago,  IL   Growth  Institute   Grubbly  Farms   GTG  Capital   Austin,  TX   Atlanta,  GA   Reno,  NV   GuestBox   Gust   Gutwein  Law   Gainesville,  FL   New  York,  NY   Lafayette,  IN   HAAS  Alert   Hackers/Founders   Halo  Industries,  Inc.   Chicago,  IL   San  Jose,  CA   San  Mateo,  CA   Hamachi  Digital   Hammerhead  Navigation  Inc.   Hannah  Grimes  Center   Nashville,  TN   New  York,  NY   Keene,  NH