CTIA makes case against tough Web rules

CTIA-The Wireless Association has new legal analysis explaining how its services would not be covered under new rules if regulators decided to treat the Internet like a public utility.

The Federal Communications Commission has “no lawful basis” for imposing utility-style rules on people’s access to the Internet over their phones and tablets, CTIA said in a filing with the FCC. “[O]n one point in particular, the Act is clear: Under Section 332, mobile broadband may not, under any circumstances, be subjected to common carrier treatment under Title II,” CTIA said. “Congress intended only mobile offerings that mimic traditional telephone service to be subject to common carrier treatment,” it added. Wireless companies that allow people to connect to the Internet are so much more than traditional phone service, the group argued, so the service is “immune from common carrier regulation.” Instead, the trade group urged the FCC to write rules under a different portion of the law allowing it to support broadband deployment.

[Dec 23]