Court Schedules Argument in Effective Competition Suit

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has set oral argument for Nov 10 in telecommunication regulators' challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's decision on effective competition. The commission, with the strong backing of cable operators--the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and American Cable Association both intervened in the court challenge on the FCC's side--voted to reverse the rebuttable presumption and assume cable systems face local market competition--primarily given the ubiquity of DBS--unless telecom regulators or other challengers could prove they did not. A finding of effective competition lifts basic cable price regulations. Not surprisingly, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) opposed the move and sued the FCC.