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Supreme Court: Cable Broadband Can Stay Closed to Rival ISPs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 27, 2005 - 8:03am.
Washington -- The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Monday in favor of the nation's cable TV providers, effectively shutting out rival Internet service providers that wanted access to their broadband networks to offer competing services. The court overturned a federal court ruling that would have opened the cable companies' broadband pipes to Brand X, and other providers like EarthLink -- instead siding with existing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. The Supreme Court's ruling classifies cable broadband as an "information service," as opposed to a "telecommunications service"; under the latter classification, phone companies like SBC are required to share their high-speed DSL lines with competing providers. While cable companies, which invested heavily to upgrade their networks to provide broadband, hailed the ruling, supporters of the ISPs and consumer interest groups said it will decrease competition and potentially result in higher broadband prices for consumers.
tags: Law | Broadband | Cable | Supreme Court | Rival ISPs |

Supreme Court to Decide if Cable Broadband Should be Opened to Rival ISPs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 3, 2004 - 4:43am.
Washington -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether cable TV systems should be classified in the same manner as phone companies, who are compelled by the government to open their high-speed Internet lines so that third-party Internet service providers may offer their own competing services over the systems, the Associated Press reported. The justices will consider whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should classify cable broadband as a "telecommunications service," and be opened to competition as are phone companies' DSL lines. The case will challenge a year-old decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the cable operators must abide by the same rules as phone companies, which are forced by FCC rules to share their systems. Telephone carriers who offer DSL Internet services have argued that the rule puts them at a competitive disadvantage to the cable industry.
tags: Law | Supreme Court | Rival ISPs | Cable Broadband |