The Federal Communications Commission has reasserted its authority to regulate Internet service providers, instead of leaving it to state and local officials.
Monday the agency filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco saying that any attempt by local officials to control or regulate Internet access provided by local cable television companies would result in “regulatory disparity.”
The FCC, which regulates much of the electronic communications industry, including broadcast television, cable television, telephone and wireless communications, added that no other state or local regulations were necessary.
AT&T, which took over Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) earlier this year, is contesting the June 3 ruling of a federal judge upholding a local Portland, OR, law requiring it to sell straight Internet access over cable television instead of coupling it with a cable tv service.
The court has given no indication of when it will issue a decision on the appeal.
Network
