ISPs Say Title II Decision Is Ripe for Stay

Cable and telecommunication company Internet service providers have outlined the ABC's (and D's and E's) of why a federal court should uphold their requests and stay the June 12 enforcement date of the Federal Communications Commission's Title II reclassification of Internet access service. That came in a joint reply to the FCC's opposition to the stay. The lead line read, "The FCC’s reclassification of broadband Internet access as a Title II common carriage service is a seismic departure from the status quo that has prevailed for more than two decades. It will expose Petitioners and their members to a host of new, ill-defined requirements, and it immediately threatens them with class action litigation and enforcement actions." The chorus making that point included trade associations USTelecom, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, American Cable Association and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association; AT&T and CenturyLink. Their response was divided into arguments for why they will prevail in their underlying legal challenges, and why it is in the public's and ISP's interest to grant a stay in the interim.