NOT-SO-NEUTRAL CORNERS

By John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 7/26/2010 12:01:00 AM

WASHINGTON — Players in the network-neutrality debate are still at odds over how the FCC should enforce its authority over the Internet.

NCTA: No Way — The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, whose president, Kyle McSlarrow, is one of the FCC conferees on a legislative fix, remains adamant that the FCC’s Title II solution is a nonstarter. “The commission has no legal authority to classify any part of broadband Internet access service as a common carrier offering,” the group says. Besides, it says,“the commission retains ancillary authority to meet legitimate policy objectives.”

Open Internet Coalition: Way — ”We support the ‘third way’ approach outlined by Chairman Genachowski,” says the coalition, which includes Google, Free Press, Public Knowledge and a host of others. “The court’s decision makes uncertain the commission’s ability to implement several important parts of the National Broadband Plan and threatens the ability of the commission to adopt rules to protect an open and neutral Internet.”

American Cable Association: Stop in the Name of the Law — The American Cable Association goes the NCTA one better. Not only do those 900 or so small and midsized cable and telecom companies say the FCC shouldn’t be fast-tracking a Title II reclassification, they argue the FCC can’t do it without first spelling out just which regulations it will apply or giving operators a chance to weigh in on what a pain it will be for small operators, which means an official rulemaking. The FCC , if it goes the Title II route, plans on simply declaring that the new classification now applies.