Supreme Court Extends Time for Title II Appeal

The Supreme Court has agreed to give Internet service providers more time to decide whether to appeal a DC Court's ruling upholding the Federal Communications Commission's Title II Open Internet order. The court granted a petition by USTelecom and others to extend the deadline for appeal (filing a writ of certiorari) from July 30 to Sept. 28.

ISPs pointed out that the new FCC might have mooted that appeal by September—if it has voted on a proposal from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reverse the Title II classification and review the rules. Seeking the extension in addition to USTelecom were NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, CTIA–The Wireless Association, the American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, Alamo Broadband, TechFreedom and various individuals including VoIP pioneer Daniel Berninger. The FCC has sought comment on the proposal by the Republican FCC majority under chairman Ajit Pai to reclassify internet access—wired and wireless, fixed and mobile, customer facing and interconnections—as an information service not subject to Title II and to review whether rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization are necessary.