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IPTV Providers To Pay Same Regulatory Fees As Cable Companies

Posted by Soulskill on from the fcc-also-plans-to-bleep-all-swear-words-on-the-internet dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The FCC is looking to put regulatory fees on a per-subscriber basis for IPTV providers. 'We will assess regulatory fees on Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) licensees and we will create a new fee category that will include both cable television and IPTV,' says the report. What services they consider IPTV is yet to be seen; they call it simply 'digital television delivered through a high speed Internet connection.' We can only hope it doesn't affect too many internet video sites. "

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Why regulate it at all? by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why does the FCC need to regulate IPTV at all? It's not like traditional TV where viewers are stuck with a few providers that have an FCC granted monopoly through spectrum allocation, or a single cable company granted a monopoly by municipal contracts.

    What is there to regulate with IPTV? If you don't like your IPTV provider, you can choose another one instantly.

    The FTC can regulate the IPTV providers like any other business to prevent monopoly abuse, unfair business practices, etc. Why does the FCC need to get involved?

    Another name for government imposed "regulatory fees" is a "tax".

  2. why licensing? by stenvar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What justification in the world would there be for the FCC to regulate and license video transmissions over the Internet? Their job was to ensure orderly sharing of the public airwaves, nothing else.

  3. Re:What you can be sure it will include by mysidia · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What it won't include: Pirate Sites

    It will add new ammunition to prosecute them --- suddenly they are guilty of the federal crime of evading the tax man. With the FCC; if you fail to file and pay fees, they can assess massive forfeitures.

    For example mom and pop ISPs or VoIP providers that buy PSTN connectivity from a wholesalers that fail to meet the new complicated FCC Reporting requirements, about their number of customers down to the level of ZIP code and Census tract, can be assessed fines of millions of dollars a day, and thrown in jail until they pay.

  4. Dear FCC by rossdee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Internet is not only in the USA - it is also in the rest of the world and outside your jurisdiction