Does the FCC have the authority to reclassify an information service as a telecom service? The final answer may have to come from the U.S. Supreme Court.
With the clock ticking, trade association CTIA, representing wireless ISPs, will seek a rehearing of the FCC’s Open Internet order reclassifying fixed and mobile broadband as telecommunications services subject to Title II common carrier regulations, according to Multichannel News.
The initial decision was made by the FCC on June 14, with a 45-day window to file redress ending Friday July 29, in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The FCC, to the objections of CTIA, said its network neutrality rules applied to wireless as well as wired broadband and that it had the statutory authority to make that call. The FCC issued an explanation: “the Commission permissibly found that mobile broadband like all broadband—is a telecommunications service subject to common carrier regulation.”
Multichannel News said the FCC initially classified mobile broadband as a private radio service back in 2007. Then it was considered a “nascent” service rather than one reaching a substantial portion of the public and therefore a commercial mobile service subject to common carrier regulations.
But now, according to the FCC, with millions more using mobile devices to access the internet, it falls under the classification of a commercial service.
CTIA argued in their filing that mobile requires “far more complex and aggressive network management than fixed broadband requires,” and that the FCC cannot apply the same standard to both.
Other parties who have challenged the ruling, like NCTA (National Cable and Telecommunications Association) and USTelecom, may also join CTIA in filing for a rehearing under separate petitions.
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