US trade association USTelecom has filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the FCC’s recently-announced net neutrality ruling
In a filing, the trade group said it seeks review of the order “on the grounds…
US trade association USTelecom has filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the FCC’s recently-announced net neutrality ruling
In a filing, the trade group said it seeks review of the order “on the grounds that it is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion[…]violates federal law[…]conflicts with the notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 553; and is otherwise contrary to law.”
At end of February, USTelecom president Walter McCormick had anticipated that the trade group would “turn to the courts for review”, and was looking forward to working with Congress on a bipartisan basis to advance legislation.
McCormick criticised the regulator’s decision to reclassify ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, arguing that it is the wrong path for achieving broadband deployment in all parts of the United States.
“In reversing longstanding bipartisan precedent, and imposing public utility regulation on the most dynamic sector of our nation’s economy, the FCC is adopting policies that were not designed – nor ever intended – for the Internet. History has shown that common carrier regulation slows innovation, chills investment, and leads to increased costs on consumers,” McCormick pointed out.
McCormick’s remarks echoed those of telcos, cable operators and market observers.
Market leader Verizon said that the “move is especially regrettable because it is wholly unnecessary,” while David Cohen, executive VP and chief diversity officer in open internet at cableco Comcast noted that the ruling will certainly “lead to years of litigation and regulatory uncertainty and may greatly harm investment and innovation.”
In an interview with TelecomFinance last week, Jack Nadler, a Washington-based partner at Squire Patton Boggs who was actively involved in the legislative proceedings leading to the adoption of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, described the order as “an admission of failure”.
“The goal of telecom policy should be to promote a competitive internet that does not require substantial regulation. The net neutrality rules are an admission that we no longer have a competitive internet (as we did in the dial-up era) and, therefore, have to resort to substantial government regulation,” he said.
