Good news ahead: Supreme Court seems to favor cable in open-access fight.(NCTA Preview)( Federal Communications Commission's regulations on the use of broadband lines)

Broadcasting & Cable, April, 2005 by McConnell, Bill

Cable-industry lawyers say that they have a good shot at keeping rival Internet service providers (ISPs) away from their broadband subscribers. That prediction came last week during oral arguments in a case that could dictate how cable companies operate their lucrative high-speed Internet platforms.

Many of the justices' comments indicated they believe that the FCC was well within its authority three years ago when it decided against making cable operators open their broadband lines to other ISPs. A decision is expected in June. The FCC's 2002 conclusion not to impose ISP open access on cable operators was a "classic example of what an agency does," said Justice Stephen Breyer, meaning that it creates rules that can he logically defended. "I don't think...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.