FCC Rules Wireless Broadband is an Information Service

FCC CLASSIFIES WIRELESS BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE AS AN INFORMATION SERVICE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The FCC declared that wireless broadband Internet access service is an information service under the Communications Act (Act). This action places wireless broadband Internet access service on the same regulatory footing as other broadband services, such as cable modem service, wireline broadband (DSL) Internet access service, and Broadband over Power Line (BPL)-enabled Internet access service. It thus ensures, the FCC said, that wireless broadband Internet access services are similarly free from unnecessary regulatory burdens. Competition among all of these broadband services will provide consumers with more and better services at lower prices. Wireless broadband Internet access service is defined in today's Ruling as a service that uses spectrum, wireless facilities, and wireless technologies to provide subscribers with high speed Internet access capabilities. Wireless broadband Internet access service can be provided using mobile, portable, or fixed technologies, and wireless broadband technologies can transmit data over short, medium, or long ranges.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A1.doc

* FCC Classifies Wireless Broadband as Information Service
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6426867?title=Article&spacede...

* FCC eases wireless Web rules
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc23mar23,1,3402392....

* Chairman Martin:
Today’s ruling highlights that the broadband market today is increasingly characterized by multiple platforms that are vigorously competing for customers. Wireless service is becoming increasingly important as another platform to compete with cable and DSL as a provider of broadband. I have long believed that the Commission should focus on creating a regulatory environment that promotes investment and competition by minimizing economic regulation. In addition, the Commission must set the rules of the road so that players can compete on a level playing field. In other words, all providers of the same service should be treated in the same manner regardless of the technology that they employ.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A2.doc

* Commissioner Copps:
I concur in today’s decision not because I like it. Not because I think it’s the right thing to do. But because in light of the Commission’s post-Brand X decisions, today’s outcome has long been inevitable. I nevertheless want to reiterate my view that consigning broadband services to an indeterminate Title I regulatory limbo is no substitute for a genuine national broadband strategy. It doesn’t give either businesses or consumers the kind of certainty that they are entitled to. And I simply cannot accept, when the stakes are so high, that deferring difficult decisions—rather than actually making them—constitutes a responsible regulatory framework.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A3.doc

* Commissioner Adelstein:
Now that we have put these providers on similar footing, it is high time to turn to protecting consumers in the broadband age. In fact, it is frustrating that the Commission is able to generate yet another reclassification item while the Broadband Consumer Protection Notice that we adopted over 18 months ago, and that will form the centerpiece of our consumer protection policies in this new framework, remains pending. Instead, we are devoting resources to an item that was not even specifically teed up by an interested party nor put out for public comment. Of course, some might say it is a lot easier to generate an item quickly when there is no record to consider. Perhaps the handwriting was on the wall, with no nuance to consider. But looking at the strained legal analysis in this item and the questions left unanswered, it is hard to see how specific public input would not have benefited this item.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A4.doc

* Commissioner Tate:
Today, we continue down the path of deregulation as we move forward to ensure that the benefits of the new Digital Age accrue to all Americans.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A5.doc

* Commissioner McDowell
All market players deserve the certainty and regulatory even-handedness necessary to spark investment, speed competition, empower consumers, and make America a stronger player in the global economy.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271695A6.doc

* Statement in response to Wireless Broadband Declaratory Ruling:
Harold Feld: “If the Commission genuinely wants to ‘standardize treatment of broadband services across platforms,’ it must require wireless services to allow subscribers to attach any device to its network. Media Access Project fully supports Commissioner Copp’s call for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to apply the Cartefone principles and the Commission’s network attachment rules to wireless networks.”
http://www.mediaaccess.org/press/MAP%20Statement%20on%20Wireless%20Rulin...