-
USIIA has released a position paper on
"Internet taxation and the deployment of Broadband in America."
The paper
offers 10 reasons why the moratorium in Internet access taxes should be
extended permanently.
-
Testimony of David McClure before the House Small Business
Committee on Taxation of Internet Access and its impact on America's
small businesses. The hearing was conducted October 2, 2007.
-
USIIA releases "Demand
for Bandwidth" Position Paper
-
USIIA releases
eHealth
Position Paper
-
FTC releases its report on Broadband
Competition, finding no basis or need for re-regulation of the
broadband markets to achieve competition:
Full Text.
-
USIIA
Release and
Comments
In FCC's Broadband Regulation NOI.
-
USIIA Position Paper "The
Exabyte Internet"
-
USIIA
Endorses
"Permanent
Internet Tax Freedom Act"
-
Why "Data Retention" Won't Help Law Enforcement
-
USIIA's McClure Named To
USAC Board of Directors.
USIIA President Dave McClure has been named to the board of the
organization that governs universal service funding. He will serve
on the Schools and Libraries Committee and will co-chair the Audit
Committee.
-
FCC
News Release: Ruling on
Franchising In Video Markets
-
FCC
News Release:
Approval of AT&T/BellSouth Merger
-
FCC
News Release: Ruling on
Franchising In Video Markets
-
FCC
News Release:
Approval of AT&T/BellSouth Merger
-
USIIA has sent a letter
endorsing the
"Permanent
Internet Tax Freedom Act," which would
permanently ban discriminatory taxes on Internet services and taxes on
Internet access. (January, 2007)
-
USIIA has recommitted to the operation of
the Subpoena Defense web site for 2007. The site is operated
jointly with the Electronic Frontier Foundation at
http://www.subpoenadefense.org, and is dedicated to assisting
ISPs and those sued for copyright violations online learn about their
rights and find legal representation. (September, 2006)
-
USIIA urged speedy passage of the COPA
Telecom bill by the House of Representatives in this
letter to
House members (May, 2006)
-
USIIA sent a
letter to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner,
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, opposing his legislation
mandating data retention by ISPs. The legislation was withdrawn.
(May, 2006)
-
USIIA responds to a GAO request for
comments on the
impact of local taxation on Broadband deployment. (March, 2006)
-
USIIA has been engaged throughout 2006 in
urging states to reform their video franchise procedures to make it
faster and easier for competition to enter local video markets -- while
avoiding the imposition of detrimental conditions such as "network
neutrality" language. Letters of support were sent to legislators in
California,
Indiana,
Kansas,
Louisiana,
Michigan,
Missouri,
North Carolina,
New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, in
addition to letters of
support to the US Congress. USIIA President testified
numerous times in support of the Pennsylvania franchise reform
legislation.
-
USIIA
issued a
statement on
the proposed merger of AT&T with BellSouth. (March, 2006)
-
The US Internet Industry Association filed
comments with the
Federal Communications Commission in response to the FCC's proposed
rulemaking on video franchising. (February, 2006)
-
USIIA issued a
statement endorsing the Senate's Video Competition
Principles. (February, 2006)
-
USIIA issued a formal
policy
regarding broadband deployment and municipal networks. (June,
2005)
-
USIIA issues a
letter of support for "Broadband
Investment and Consumer Choice Act of 2005."
-
The US Supreme Court
issued a
ruling on the BrandX open access
case and a
ruling on MGM v. Grokster case.
-
USIIA
issued a
statement on communications mergers and acquisitions
related to the Verizon acquisition of MCI and the SBC acquisition of
AT&T.
-
USIIA has filed an
amicus
brief in the Apple case against the fan blogs,
arguing the the Stored Communications Act prohibits an ISP from reading
or surrendering private emails in a civil lawsuit.
-
USIIA
letter opposing Utah bill H.B.260,
a bill that would require ISPs to attempt to block IP addresses of
web sites deemed unsuitable for minors.
-
USIIA has signed an Internet
industry
amicus brief in MGM v. Grokster,
arguing that the Supreme Court should not ban a technology simply
because that technology -- even P2P -- might in some way be used for
illegal purposes. The Court ruled in 2005, and agreed.
-
The New Millennium Research Council
has issued a
report on the "MCI Layers" Proposal,
which purports to be a platform for Internet regulation.
-
USIIA has signed an Internet
industry
amicus brief in the 2005 Supreme Court
case of MGM v. Grokster. The brief before the US Supreme Court
argues that copyright holders must not have the right to prohibit the
development of new technologies just because those technologies might
someday be used to make an illicit copy of a work.
-
Are municipal networks good for
competition in the broadband industry? Ultimately, USIIA
concludes that replacing a number of private competitors with a
government-owned monopoly is bad for consumers and for the industry.
See the 2005 New Millennium Research Council
Report on Municipal Wi-Fi.
-
USIIA has contributed its views to the
2004 New Millennium Research Council
Report on "MCI Layers" Proposal.
USIIA finds the proposal interesting but unworkable as a policy
platform for the boradband industry.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter
to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, urging him to bring HR107 -- the
"Digital Media
Consumers' Rights Act" to hearings in the Committee.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter
to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, indicating the Association's opposition to S.2650,
the "The
Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004."
-
California's new privacy law
went into effect July 1. The law requires companies
operating a
commercial web site that is accessible by California consumer to
post a conspicuous privacy policy on their sites and to disclose
what personally-discernable information they collect and share.
-
USIIA has joined the Center for
Democracy and Technology, the EFF and EPIC in an
amicus brief
in the case of ACLU and John Doe (an ISP) v. John Ashcroft.
The federal case seeks clarification of the responsibilities of
ISPs in compliance with the Patriot Act and the revelation of
subscriber information to federal agents under that act.
-
USIIA Has filed a
Petition
for Reconsideration and Clarification with the Federal
Communications Commission, seeking to determine whether the
recently released Triennial Review Order deregulation under
Section 251 of the Communications Act also explicitly
deregulates under Section 271 of the Act.
-
USIIA has sent
letters to the US Senate
Judiciary and Commerce committees in advance of hearings on the
RIAA and P2P downloads. The letters ask the committees to
overturn the "accelerated subpoena" process now being used to
sue consumers for downloading.
-
USIIA has completed election of new
members of the USIIA Board of Directors for 2003-2005. The
election results will be announced at the association's Annual
Meeting on September 10.
-
The Federal Communications Commission has released its 2003
Triennial Review, setting new rules for broadband deregulation
and file sharing. The
Text of the FCC Triennial Review
Order is posted to the FCC web site.
-
USIIA has filed
comments
with the Department of Homeland Security asking that, as part of
the implementation of the SAFETY Act of 2002, liability
limitations provided for under the law be extended to Internet
Service Providers.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter
to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, asking that his committee move quickly to approve a
permanent moratorium on Internet access taxes, and that the bill
be amended to include taxes on dial-up access lines.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the House leadership and
the full Judiciary Committee.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter to
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, urging him to reject the "super-DMCA"
bill passed by the Florida legislature and send it back for
further consideration. Read the USIIA letter and its
alert
to Florida Internet companies.
-
The Congressional Internet Caucus
Advisory Committee will conduct a special panel discussion for
members of Congress in early June, entitled "Internet Tax
Simplification: Is It Really That Simple?" USIIA has filed
a one-page summary
of its position and comments on taxation of the Internet in
support of this event.
-
Nominations open June 1 for election
of the Board of Directors for two-year terms beginning September
12, 2003. Nominated for new terms are current directors
Jim Butler, Christopher Smith, Link Hoewing and Donald Kent.
Members in good standing who wish to nominate candidates for
open Board seats should contact the USIIA offices for details on
the nomination process.
-
USIIA has joined with the Computer
and Communication Industry Association, the Texas ISP
Association, the Washington Associations of ISPs and a dozen
individual ISPs to file an industry
amicus brief requesting a stay in the case of RIAA v.
Verizon.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter of
endorsement to Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren
(D-CA) in support of their "BALANCE Act"
digital rights legislation.
-
The USIIA has sent endorsement
letters to Sen. George Allen (R-VA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in
support of their "Jumpstart Broadband Act."
-
USIIA has sent
letters of
endorsement to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA)
in support of the Internet Non-Discrimination Tax Act.
-
USIIA has sent a
letter to Sen.
Conrad Burns (R-MT) in support of his list of technology
priorities, the "Nextgen Ten."
-
The Recording Industry
Association of America proposes to force ISPs to pay for
subscribers who share files online. Read the USIIA
response.
-
USIIA President Dave McClure has
been awarded the 2002 Industry Leadership Award for the
broadband industry in the Cornerstone Awards. He shares
the honor with USIIA member Robert Vogelsang of national ISP
ImagiNet. McClure was honored for his work in Internet
policy, while Vogelsang was recognized for his 19 years of work
in building and shaping the broadband industries as a publisher
and service provider.
-
USIIA has, in cooperation with other leading
Internet organizations and companies, filed an amicus brief in
the case of RIAA v. Verizon. This case, critical to ISPs
because of its potential to set future P2P liability, has also
seen an amicus brief on behalf of end users filed by a coalition
of consumer groups. Read the USIIA
brief, and the declaratory
statement
by USIIA President Dave McClure.
-
Songwriter and singer Janis Ian takes on the
music industry and its position against the Internet in a
stunning
article entitled "The Internet Debacle -- An Alternative
View." The article outlines why the music industry itself is responsible for the industry's
decline.
A well-written and direct response both to the music industry
and the members of Congress who are helping that industry's
attack on consumers.
-
Calling his effort a bid to end the stalemate
over broadband deregulation, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has
introduced a new bill that would eliminate most regulations for
residential broadband services. The
Consumer Broadband Deregulation Act of 2002 would remove
regulations restricting the ability of established local phone
companies to offer long-distance broadband services to
residential consumers, but would not deregulate the business
market.
-
USIIA has taken a position against passage of
a new bill from Rep. Howard Coble that would give Hollywood the
legal right to hack the computers of Internet users. See
the text of the bill, and USIIA's
alert to members.
-
USIIA has released a new white paper on the
emerging role of the
Internet Service
Provider in the 21st Century. The paper presents four
business models that will dominate the ISP business, along with
guidelines for successful evolution to the next-generation
service provider.
-
USIIA has filed a
comments
in support of a petition by SES Americom to launch a new
direct-to-home satellite service in 2004. The service will
provide broadband capacity to ISPs, along with other content.
-
USIIA has signed Memorandums of Understanding
with SBC and
Verizon regarding deployment of broadband Internet.
The MOUs are part of the process to establish contract-based
resale opportunities for independent ISPs.
-
Senators John Breaux of Louisiana
and Don Nickles of Oklahoma have introduced S.2430, the "Broadband
Regulatory Parity Act of 2002." The bill is an effort to level
the regulatory playing field for broadband while at the same
time protecting the interests of Internet Service Providers.
USIIA issued an alert to its members and sent
letters of support
to the Congress encouraging passage of the bill.
-
USIIA has filed
comments
with the FCC in its broadband proceedings regarding appropriate
regulation. USIIA argues that the FCC needs to take a new
look at Broadband, rather than simply shoe-horning the Internet
into old rules designed for telephony networks.
-
USIIA has taken a position opposing passage
of Online Personal Privacy Act proposed by Sen. Fritz Hollings
(D-SC). The Hollings bill provides minimal privacy
protection to consumers while unfairly targeting ISPs and online
services with new and unnecessary regualtions.
-
USIIA was one of the organizations that
signed a letter to US Secretary of
Commerce Donald Evans, pledging industry support for the
evolution of ICANN and the creation of better management
solutions for the organization.
-
The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering 61
lecturing, research, and lecturing/research awards in Computer
Science for the 2003-2004 academic year. Awards for both faculty
and professionals range from two months to an academic year.
Application deadlines for 2003-2004 awards are May 1 for
Fulbright Distinguished Chair awards in Europe, Canada and
Russia; August 1 for Fulbright traditional lecturing and
research grants worldwide. For information, visit
www.cies.org.
-
USIIA President Dave McClure tackles a brief
history of the Tauzin-Dingell battle in a
cover story for the April issue of Broadband Properties.
McClure argues that the key messages transcend the political
infighting that has surrounded the bill.
-
The Federal Communications Commission has
announced the fourth in a series of Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking procedures concerning the regulation of Broadband
Internet. Comments are due by April 15, and USIIA will
make comments on the NPRM. The Federal Register notice is
here.
-
USIIA has filed
comments
in the 3rd Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Broadband
Internet. The association called for regulatory parity
among Broadband platforms and deregulation of Broadband.
-
The US House of Representatives passed HR 1542,
the "Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act," by a vote
of 273-157. The only amendment passed increases fines for
non-compliance from $120,000 per day to $1 million, granting the
stated desire of FCC Chairman Michael Powell to give enforcement
more teeth. The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
-
Citing the need for a strong and immediate
effort to provide rural America with advanced Broadband
services, the USIIA has filed
comments
with the Federal Communications Commission in FCC Docket 01-348.
The comments ask the Commission to approve the merger of
Echostar and Hughes Electronics and the transfer of licenses
association with the merger.
-
On January 25, 2002, the Federal Communications
Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order,
under FCC Docket No. 02-6, regarding Schools and Libraries
Universal Service Support Mechanism, otherwise known as the
e-Rate. Public comments will be due 45 days after
publication of the action in the Federal Register, and Reply
Comments will be due 75 days after publication in Federal
Register. For further information, see the
FCC announcement.
-
The Federal Communications Commission has
released the comment notice for Docket No. 01-337, the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking regarding regulatory requirements for ILEC
broadband services. Comments are due March 1, with reply
comments on April 1. Additional information may be found at the
FCC web site.
-
The US Department of Education will launch a new
program to assess the value of technology to enhance learning.
In announcing the program, Education Secretary Rod Paige said
educators and school boards need to refocus their attention away
from providing access and toward evaluation of how technology is
applied in the curriculum. $15 million of the $680 million in
the recently-passed bill for education reform will fund a
five-year study on the subject.
-
USIIA has released a new forecast of the
Internet policy issues and agendas that will prevail in 2002.
See the USIIA news release
and the white paper on Internet
policy for the coming year.
-
Responding to a request by Rep. Thad Cochran of
the House Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation
and Federal Services Committee on Government Affairs, the
General Accounting Office on December 26 released a new
report on
e-commerce activities of the US Postal Service. The report
was generally critical of the Postal Service for its failure to
follow procedures and manage the initiatives.
-
The Federal Communications
Commission has initiated a review of the current regulatory
requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers’ (LECs)
broadband telecommunications services. See FCC
news release.
-
The USIIA
white
paper, "Investment,
Access, and Security: A Policy Environment
For E-Government" will be published as
part of the 600-page US Government E-Business
Report, a report that will be distributed
free of charge to Congress, Senate,
Governors, Government Project directors,
Mayors, City managers, all state and local
government IT Directors and more.
-
USIIA has filed
comments with the FCC in support of a
petition filed by Texas Networking, Inc. and
other ISPs. In its petition, Texas.Net claims
that AOL Time Warner has not engaged in good
faith negotiations to open its network. USIIA
also notes that AOL Time Warner's refusal to
carry advertising by competing ISPs is a
violation of the FCC's conditions for the
merger of AOL with Time Warner. See the
Texas.Net petition, and the
USIIA
comments.
-
The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) has initiated
its third
inquiry under section 706 of
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into
whether "advanced telecommunications
capability" is being deployed to all
Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.
Information may be filed with the FCC by any
ISP with 250 or more high-speed service lines
or wireless channels in service in a state,
using Form 477.
-
USIIA has joined
with the Center for Democracy and Technology,
the US Chamber of Commerce and other leading
technology organizations to file an
"amicus"
brief
that outlines key points of law in the case
of Yahoo! vs. LICRA. As noted in the brief,
"At issue in this case is whether a
foreign country can control the content that
U.S. individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses,
community organizations, libraries and
churches can place on the 'exponentially
growing, worldwide medium that is the
Internet.' "
-
USIIA
has helped defeat a Pennsylvania bill that
would have placed unwarranted obligations and
liabilities on ISPs serving that state. See
the USIIA
Alert for details.
-
After
substantial changes were made to its
language, including the addition of a firm
timetable for broadband deployment and
guarantees of consumer choice and ISP access
to future fiber optic networks, USIIA
endorsed passage of HR 1542, the Internet
Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act. See the
USIIA
Alert to its
members; our
letter to the US
House of Representatives, and our
ad supporting
the issue in the Capitol newspaper Roll Call.
-
USIIA
has
testified before the
Senate Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on
Communications, asking for passage without
amendments for S.630, the Burns/Wyden
"CAN-Spam Act."
-
USIIA
filed comments with the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce with regard to the
"Internet Freedom and Broadband
Deployment Act" introduced by Reps.
Tauzin and Dingell. While generally
pleased with the ISP and consumer protections built into the act, the USIIA did ask
that a section of the bill that could end
wholesale broadband rates for ISPs be
stricken. Read the letter to the
Committee
here.
-
The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
announced the adoption of new rules
concluding that telecommunications traffic
delivered to an ISP is interstate access
traffic, specifically "information
access," thus not subject to reciprocal
compensation. In conjunction with the
reciprocal compensation Order released today,
the Commission also released a related
Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM ) concerning a
Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime.
-
The
National Telecommunications and Information
Administration, a branch of the US Department
of Commerce, has announced plans to transfer
control of the ".edu" domain to
EDUCAUSE, a higher education technology
association. The exclusive con tract
would give control of the domain to the
1,800-member education group for five
years, renewable with satisfactory
performance. No other administering
organization was solicited to bid on the
contract. The ".edu" domain is
currently restricted to four-year
degree-granting higher education
institutions.
-
President
Bush has announced three nominations to
vacant positions at the Federal
Communications Commission. Named to become
Commissioners are Kevin Martin,
Kathleen Abernathy and Michael Copps. Their names have
been sent to the Senate for
confirmation. Kevin Martin is the former
legal advisor to outgoing Commissioner
Harold Furchtgott-Roth. Martin authored many
of Furchtgott-Roth's dissenting opinions and
statements for Congressional
committees. Kathleen Abernathy, also a
Republican is VP for Public Policy at
Broadband Office Communications. She was
formerly VP at Air Touch Communications, and
was legal advisor to former FCC Commissioner
Sherry Marshall and former Chairman James
Quello. Michael Copps, a Democrat, was
a long-time aide to Sen. Ernest Hollings
(D-SC) and previously served as the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce.
-
Rep.
Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Chairman of the House
Commerce Committee, has published a
paper titled
"Telecom Deregulation, Broadband
Deployment, and Economic Growth." He
says in the paper that the FCC should
regulate all broadband services the same,
advocated reform of the FCC's merger review
process, reconsider the e-Rate program and
complement information technology policy with
a national energy policy.
-
USIIA
has sent a
letter to Rep.
Heather Wilson in support of HR718, the
Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of
2001. While the intent of the bill is
very good, some of the language could be
disastrous for smaller ISPs. USIIA
notes its objection to three parts of the
bill, but pledges support if these can be
corrected.
-
USIIA
has joined Inktomi Corp. and Verizon, Inc. in
filing an
amicus brief to
protect the rights of ISPs in copyright
notification. In a decision in the case
of ALS Scan v. Remarq Communities, the 4th US
District Court inadvertently weakened a key
section of the Millennium Digital Copyright
Act that specifies notification and
takedown procedures. USIIA is
requesting reconsideration based on the law.
-
Rep.
Chris Cox (R-CA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
introduced companion bills in the House and
Senate to permanently ban Internet access
taxes and to extend for five years the
existing moratorium on multiple and
discriminatory taxes on the Internet. The
bills are named the
Internet
Non-Discrimination Act.
-
Kick-starting
Internet issues in the new 107th Congress,
Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) has introduced
House Resolution 12, a bill to
oppose the imposition of criminal liability
on ISPs (including web hosts, portals, search
engines and directories) for the acts of
their subscribers. The bill is aimed at
curbing ISP liability claims from European
regulators and global content
providers. Dreier is on the Business
Week list of the top 12 most tech-savvy
members of Congress.
-
USIIA
has released a new
white paper assessing
how the Bush administration will approach
public policy related to the Internet.
Based on the Bush campaign's Technology Plan
and on campaign pledges and speeches, the paper assesses key areas that include privacy,
copyright and disabled access.
-
USIIA
President Dave McClure discusses three
survival strategies for ISPs in an article
entitled "End Game for
ISPs?" in this month's
Internet Industry magazine.
-
USIIA
has filed
comments with the
Federal Communications Commission related to
the FCC's Notice of Inquiry on cable Internet
open access. USIIA has taken a position
in favor of regulatory parity among differing
broadband platforms.
-
UCLA's
Internet Project, an ambitious measure of the
Internet and its use, has issued its year
2000
report
-- and its
findings challenge many closely-held
conceptions about the Intern et. The
study shows, for example, that the
"Digital Divide" may be more
rhetoric than reality. And it says that
rather than creating loners, the Internet
helps to bring friends and family closer
together. It's an excellent stud y that
should be mandatory reading for legislators
and regulators.
-
The
General Accounting Office has issued its
report on
"Technological and Regulatory Factors
Affecting Consumer Choice of Internet
Providers." The report,
commissioned by Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and
Herb Kohl (D-WI) says that consumer choice
may become limited as consumers move to
broadband Internet. The report supports
the need for open access in broadband.
-
The
accounting firm of Ernst &Young has
released a report entitled, "The Sky is
Not Falling," rebutting the myth that
states are losing significant tax revenues to
Internet sellers. The report is available
from E&Y at
http://www.ey.com/ecommerce/sky.asp.
-
The
Federal Communications Commission's Office of
Plans and Policy (OPP) has released the 32nd
in its OPP Working Paper Series, entitled
"The Digital Handshake: Connecting
Internet Backbones." The paper, authored
by Michael Kende, Direct or of Internet
Policy Analysis in the Office of Plans
and Policy, examines the interconnection
arrangements between Internet backbone
providers. The
white paper is available
online.
-
USIIA
has joined with other leading technical
associations to file an amicus brief with the
9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The
brief is designed to ensure that the court
has a detailed understanding of the current
copyright law before ruling on the appeal of
the lower court ruling in RIAA v.
Napster. The brief does not take a
position in favor of either party in the
suit, but explains the rule of law.
-
USIIA
has filed
reply
comments with the Federal
Communications Commission on the issue of
reciprocal compensation. In its written
comments, the association noted that
reciprocal compensation for calls terminating
at an ISP were not a major revenue source for
ISPs, and could be detrimental to the
industry by providing a disincentive to the
expansion of Broadband Internet.
-
USIIA
has sent a
letter (July 25,
2000) to Rep. Chris Cox asking that the
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act not be
brought up for a vote in the House of
Representatives.
-
The US Internet
Industry Association (USIIA) today (July 7, 2000) filed a
petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking
that cable Internet services be required to fulfill their
obligations to open their networks to competition.
Read the USIIA
News Release, or review
the
FCC Filing.
-
The
July 22 ruling by the U.S. 9th District Court
of Appeals on the open access issue is a
major setback for cable companies hoping to
keep their networks closed to competition
from ISPs. The decision by the
three-judge panel set aside a lower court
ruling that had allowed the City of Portland,
OR, to make open cable access a condition of
cable franchising. In its
decision, the court
said:
-
"We
hold that subsection 541(b)(3) prohibits
a franchising authority from regulating
cable broadband Internet access, because
the transmission of Internet service to
subscribers over cable broadband
facilities is a telecommunications
service under the Communications
Act."
-
This kills a major argument of the cable industry -- that
cable Internet is not a telecommunications service and thus
not subject to FCC regulation. And sets the stage for
pressure on the FCC to come out of its shell and take a
position on open access. The FCC will likely do so on
the AOL-Time Warner merger. The impact on AT&T and
other cable companies remains to be seen.