Professors School FCC on Reclassification

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, former White House aide Susan Crawford joins fellow-Professors Marvin Ammori and Tim Wu in supporting the proposition that the FCC has the legal authority to classify the transmission portion of high-speed Internet access -- but not "the Internet" -- as a telecommunications service.

From 2000 to 2005, retail cable modem service was arguably legally classified as a telecommunications service. This history underscores the ambiguity of US telecommunications law and the permissibility of either classification. In 2010, the gatekeeper providers of transmission -- the carriers -- are no longer separate entities providing basic, regulated services. There's no robust marketplace of independent Internet service providers. The FCC faces a choice -- it can abandon the idea of supporting high-speed access with the Universal Service Fund and requiring providers of high-speed Internet access to disclose detailed information about costs and speeds. Alternatively, the FCC can reclassify and face a single battle, but it is one the FCC should win if it develops an adequate factual record about consumers' changed perception of Internet access services.