FCC eighth-floor staffers were briefed Wednesday on Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable by the agency’s transaction review team, agency officials said. The briefing took place on the same day as a Comcast meeting with the Department of Justice, and several industry officials have said the transaction review is seen as winding down (see 1504200049).
CenturyLink became the latest to file an appeal of the FCC’s net neutrality order, filing a petition Friday for reconsideration in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The company became the second ISP to appeal the order; AT&T filed Tuesday. USTelecom, of which CenturyLink and AT&T are members, also has appealed, as well as Alamo Broadband, the American Cable Association, CTIA and NCTA (see 1504140046). All but Alamo, which filed in the 5th Circuit, appealed to the D.C. Circuit.
CenturyLink became the latest to file an appeal of the FCC’s net neutrality order, filing a petition Friday for reconsideration in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The company became the second ISP to appeal the order; AT&T filed Tuesday. USTelecom, of which CenturyLink and AT&T are members, also has appealed, as well as Alamo Broadband, the American Cable Association, CTIA and NCTA (see 1504140046). All but Alamo, which filed in the 5th Circuit, appealed to the D.C. Circuit.
The February FCC net neutrality order may provide momentum to any congressional proposal to end the FTC’s common carrier exemption, industry observers told us. That exemption precludes FTC Act Section 5 jurisdiction over common carriers subject to the Communications Act, and the FCC order reclassifies broadband as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act, potentially upsetting jurisdictional boundaries. Any proposal may get entangled in net neutrality, complicating the issue in a messy legislative battlefield over agency authority for the FCC and FTC, observers said.
The February FCC net neutrality order may provide momentum to any congressional proposal to end the FTC’s common carrier exemption, industry observers told us. That exemption precludes FTC Act Section 5 jurisdiction over common carriers subject to the Communications Act, and the FCC order reclassifies broadband as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act, potentially upsetting jurisdictional boundaries. Any proposal may get entangled in net neutrality, complicating the issue in a messy legislative battlefield over agency authority for the FCC and FTC, observers said.
The FCC net neutrality order is to be published in the Federal Register Monday. That means the FCC will know soon which major players will challenge the order in court, industry officials said Friday. CTIA, USTelecom and possibly NCTA are expected to lead the charge against the order, which reclassifies broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act (see 1503300055).
The FCC net neutrality order is to be published in the Federal Register Monday. That means the FCC will know soon which major players will challenge the order in court, industry officials said Friday. CTIA, USTelecom and possibly NCTA are expected to lead the charge against the order, which reclassifies broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act (see 1503300055).
Beyond the usual difficulty in getting the Supreme Court to take a case, petitions (see 1504080050) seeking review of the 2011 USF/intercarrier compensation order (see 1405270045) face some obstacles, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and other telecom attorneys told us. U.S. Cellular’s argument that the net neutrality order adds to the urgency to deal with the agency’s Telecommunications Act 706 authority through the Universal Service Fund/ICC case is unlikely to move justices, they said.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., wants to pursue “legislation to ensure forbearance will be permanent” in the FCC net neutrality order, which reclassifies broadband as a Communications Act Title II service and forbears from many Title II provisions, his spokeswoman told us this week. Kinzinger pressed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on the possibility at an FCC oversight hearing last month, as did Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, zeroing in on making rate regulation forbearance permanent.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., wants to pursue “legislation to ensure forbearance will be permanent” in the FCC net neutrality order, which reclassifies broadband as a Communications Act Title II service and forbears from many Title II provisions, his spokeswoman told us this week. Kinzinger pressed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on the possibility at an FCC oversight hearing last month, as did Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, zeroing in on making rate regulation forbearance permanent.