Public Knowledge Sues FCC Over IP Transition Item

Various groups have taken the Federal Communications Commission to court, appealing its decision on speeding the transition to fiber and the retirement of legacy network to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, generally thought to be a more friendly venue than the DC Circuit. Asking the Ninth Circuit to reverse and vacate the November order were Public Knowledge, The Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network, and the National Association of State Utility Advocates.

In another remake of a decision under his Democratic predecessor, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the FCC's Republican majority voted in Nov to make changes to the timetable for the copper-to-fiber-based IP network remakes, changes billed as "speeding the transition to modern broadband networks. Public Knowledge et al. support the Wheeler approach in 2015, which put in various requirements to maintain those legacy nets and services during the transition. Pai said at the time those were needlessly slowing the transition.

“The protections the FCC previously adopted ensured that the retirement of legacy phone services would be an upgrade for everyone, not an upgrade for some and a downgrade for others," said Public Knowledge SVP Harold Feld. "The FCC claims that removing these protection will encourage telephone companies to upgrade their networks more quickly. But it practically guarantees that these companies will continue to leave rural America behind.”