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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. "

2 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. 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