Classifying cable modem service as a telecom service would ‘drast...
Classifying cable modem service as a telecom service would “drastically change the regulatory environment for cable modem service,” Acting Solicitor Gen. Paul Clement said in a brief on the FCC’s behalf to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Brand…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
X case (CD Jan 19 p13). Cable modem providers would be subject to common carrier pricing and filing requirements, and face new financial obligations such as contributions to universal service funds, which “could lead them to raise prices or forego new investment, particularly in rural or underserved areas,” the brief said. It also argued that the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, erred in refusing to review the FCC’s classification of cable modem service under the Chevron framework. The brief urged the Supreme Court to address the issue, noting that there’s “significant conflict in the circuits concerning the interaction of the Chevron doctrine… The court should reject the Ninth Circuit’s mistaken view that its own precedent predating the agency decision under review automatically precludes adherence to Chevron.”