The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that federal regulators have the
authority to limit the fees utility companies charge cable broadband
providers to lease space on their power  poles.
The decision is viewed as beneficial to the cable industry, and possibly to a
public eager for high-speed Internet.
The ruling overturns an earlier one by a federal appeals court
that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the power
to regulate lease rates for high-speed Internet service. Cable operators
and utility companies have been squabbling over the issue for years.
Interest Drops After $40
Broadband, supposedly the next Internet revolution, has been slow
to catch on in the U.S. despite five years of campaigning by broadband
providers and others.
Adoption has been more widespread outside of the United States. South Koreans are four
times more likely to have broadband than Americans and Canadians are twice as likely.
Several factors have contributed to the slow growth of the industry, including a
government that has adopted a laissez faire policy; the fear of
copyright holders that content will be pirated; and a sense among
potential customers that they may not get enough bang for their buck.
No Derailment for Broadband
The FCC has been regulating lease rates for the last few years,
until utility companies challenged in court, and cable operators have
complained of exorbitantly high pole lease rates in the last year or so.
The 6-2 decision by the Supreme Court remands the case
back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
"It is important that the court rejected an interpretation of the
Communications Act that could have raised the rates that consumers pay
for high speed Internet access services and derailed the broadband
revolution," FCC chairman Michael Powell said in a statement.
About 6.4 million people in the U.S. receive broadband via cable
modems, and another three million through DSL.
Wireless Wins, Too
The court's decision also covered the FCC's power to limit rates
utility companies charge wireless telecommunications providers.
"The attachments at issue in this suit -- ones which provide
co-mingled cable and Internet service and ones which provide wireless
telecommunication -- fall within the heartland of the Act," Supreme
Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said.
Still at issue, however, is how the FCC will classify broadband --
as a telecommunications, cable or information service.
Gray Areas Remain
The appeals court had ruled the FCC could not regulate prices
because it had not been classified as a cable service.
In any case, the ruling satisfied the cable industry.
"(The) decision is very good for consumers," National Cable and
Telecommunication Association spokesman Dan Brenner said in a statement.
"...In the face of rising demand for advanced broadband services, the
decision overcomes a potential impediment to broadband deployment,
especially in rural areas."
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