Court Decision Opens Door to More Cable Broadband Competition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:58am.

San Francisco -- In a decision that could play a huge role in the future of broadband Internet services in the U.S., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday refused to reverse an earlier ruling that would force major providers of cable Internet access to share their infrastructure with smaller competitors, much like telecommunications networks are shared today. The court in October had ruled that the Federal Communications Commission erred when it classified cable Internet as an information service instead of a telecommunications service. The same court has now refused to rehear the case. While consumer groups are hailing the ruling as a victory for consumers, who could ultimately have their choice of lower-cost providers, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, an industry trade group, urged further action. "While we are disappointed with the Ninth Circuit ruling, we will urge the FCC to seek U.S. Supreme Court review," the NCTA said in a statement. "We believe that if and when the Ninth Circuit's decision is given a full substantive review by the Supreme Court, it will be reversed."
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/04/01/rtr1320513.html
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=468&showArticles=ok