9th Circuit Overturns FCC's Cable Modem Decision

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "According to this Washington Post article, a federal appeals court in California has overturned a Federal Communications Commission decision that many smaller companies claim has kept them locked out of the high-speed cable Internet business. As Chris Murry of Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) notes, 'Many consumers hate their cable companies' privacy policies and their failure to deal with spam effectively. Giving consumers a choice of Internet service providers would open the door to more competition, and let people choose services with better privacy and less spam.' As noted in News.com coverage of this decision, however, FCC chairman Michael Powell plans to appeal the ruling." Reader rednaxela provides some more insight (and a link to the ruling itself), below.

rednaxela writes "The 9th Circuit today issued a decision overturning the FCC's classification of cable modem service as an 'information service,' stating instead that cable modem service consists of both an 'information service' *and* a 'telecommunications service.' Telecommunications services are classified under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and are subject to all kinds of regulation. Information Services are classified under Title I, and are largely free from regulation. If upheld, this decision will likely require cable modem providers to open their networks to competing ISPs. Further, this is likely to derail, or at least complicate, the FCC's plans to classify DSL service (which is provided primarily over incumbent telco facilities) as a unified 'information service." Bottom line - the 9th Circuit's decision may well have preserved open access for competing ISPs on all forms of wireline networks.' Here is the 9th Circuit's ruling (PDF).

Comments

No need to worry...

[Lord_Slepnir]

Dont' worry, the current Vegas Odds on the 9th Circuit Court being over turned are 21:1, based on past history alone.

cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe now the most-technologically-advanced United States will catch up with third-world South Korea in broadband!!

RIAA

[dolo666]

Why not open a company that taunts "free P2P sans RIAA risk!", and just lock the P2P to the network only, thus preventing anyone outside from identifying you or snagging your stuff?

If enough privacy could be designed for such a system, I have a feeling people would flock in droves to it. The only problem is the obvious lawsuit that the RIAA would hit you with.

My opinion is that you could win the case based on the internet's ability to remain private, and if the ISP got a radio broadcasting licence, in which case they could effectively bypass any copyright nonsense.

Re:What the hell!?

[ScrewMaster]

I think there's something fucked up going on. Fuck high-speed internet, fuck technology... fuck computers.
Hey ... you forgot the horse they rode in on.

Re:Michael Powell ... trying to help?

[Penguinshit]

Makes you wish your dad was accomplished and acclaimed so you could, through no merit of your own, randomly monkey around with the foreign and domestic policies of the US, and crap yourself silly when you see a "Terrorist/Enemy-Combatant", doesn't it?

Captialism? In the USA?

[LuYu]

Giving consumers a choice of Internet service providers would open the door to more competition, and let people choose services with better privacy and less spam.

You mean they are actually allowing capitalism to exist in the USA? Who would have thought the monopolists would ever allow that to happen?

You know, if this trend continues, US citizens might even have (shudder!) freedom again. And companies might actually have to have good service to keep customers interested.

As it stands, we are all rationed cableTV/modem access the way Russians were rationed vodka and food.