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FCC Proposes Tighter Broadband Regulation, Legal Battle Likely to Ensue

by Amar Toor on June 18, 2010 at 03:45 PM

tightening grip on broadbandImproving national broadband accessibility and speed has been high on the FCC's agenda for a while, now. And yesterday, the Commission issued the first regulatory vollies in what many are expecting to be a public-private sector showdown.

The Commission has proposed three separate plans for public comment, including something known as 'the third way.' According to the BBC, the plan, supported by FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, is essentially a middle ground compromise; the government would hold broadband companies to the stricter standards by which most phone companies are held, but would refrain from interfering with the prices providers charge users. The other options up for public consideration include leaving the present system in place, or instituting even tougher standards.


As Reuters reports, major telecom companies are less than thrilled with the FCC's proposal, largely due to fears that even a compromised form of regulation could negatively impact their profit margins. In a statement, AT&T senior executive vice president Jim Cicconi said, "We remain confident that if the FCC persists in its course -- -and we truly hope it does not -- the courts will surely overturn their action." Genachowski, meanwhile, insisted that the Commission will not pursue its agenda at the expense of corporate gains, and assured that legislators would not enforce the rate regulation or line sharing requirements that are in place under current phone rules.

Given the partisan composition of the FCC board -- with three Democrats and two Republicans -- it's almost certain that the 'third way' will be the Commission's route of choice. If that's the case, some analysts say it could open up a whole Pandora's box of legal battles, and corporate lobbying. According to Washington-based public advocacy group Public Knowledge, AT&T has spent over $6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year alone. Google, by comparison, spent just $4 million on lobbyists throughout all of 2009.

We understand that providers want to protect their almighty dollar, but we certainly hope the decision doesn't boil down to a spending contest. As we've made clear before, it's simply an embarrassment that America's broadband system lags so far behind the rest of the developed world. Whether or not this 'third-way' ends up being the way to bring ourselves back to respectability, it should at least be objectively debated, without suffocating in corporate money. [From: BBC and Reuters]

Tags: ATT, broadband, BroadbandAccess, corporate, Corporate governance, CorporateGovernance, FCC, internet, lobby, lobbying, lobbyists, regulation, regulations, top, Verizon, web

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