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CWA Urges FCC to Set 'Open Access' Broadband Policy
Washington, D.C.-- The Communications Workers of America told the Federal Communications Commission that an "open access" broadband cable policy is the best way to stimulate competition and promote the growth of jobs and the industry.
Such a national policy framework is necessary, CWA said in its filing to the FCC, to ensure that fair competition, innovation and growth continue as broadband networks further advance.
CWA called on the FCC to establish a national policy that would treat all providers of broadband Internet access as common carriers, and therefore subject to the interconnection, non-discrimination and unbundling requirements of federal communications law.
CWA pointed out that a strong legal basis already exists for considering cable modem service a "telecommunications service" and therefore subject to the obligations of common carriers. This policy would not necessarily lead to regulatory oversight of the wholesale pricing of cable modem service, but it would remedy the current situation whereby the same service, broadband Internet access, is regulated differently depending on whether access is provided over cable or telephone lines, CWA stressed. This current disparate treatment "serves to favor one technology over another in the marketplace, which runs counter to the mandates of the Telecommunications Act," the union added.
Open access cable also would provide real benefits to consumers, by giving consumers access to new and diverse sources of information, products and services. This will only result in greater consumer demand for broadband transport services, fueling both network investment and job growth, CWA noted.
"The open architecture of the Internet has fostered an explosion in democratic communications," an achievement the Commission must preserve "as we transition to the ever-widening possibilities of broadband," the union stressed. However, "this openness is threatened by a closed cable Internet access network which would give preferable treatment to affiliated Internet service providers of cable operators," CWA cautioned.
The FCC should act quickly to establish rules that will protect an open Internet, not rely on market forces and vague voluntary agreements by cable providers to open access at some future date, CWA said.
Such a national policy framework is necessary, CWA said in its filing to the FCC, to ensure that fair competition, innovation and growth continue as broadband networks further advance.
CWA called on the FCC to establish a national policy that would treat all providers of broadband Internet access as common carriers, and therefore subject to the interconnection, non-discrimination and unbundling requirements of federal communications law.
CWA pointed out that a strong legal basis already exists for considering cable modem service a "telecommunications service" and therefore subject to the obligations of common carriers. This policy would not necessarily lead to regulatory oversight of the wholesale pricing of cable modem service, but it would remedy the current situation whereby the same service, broadband Internet access, is regulated differently depending on whether access is provided over cable or telephone lines, CWA stressed. This current disparate treatment "serves to favor one technology over another in the marketplace, which runs counter to the mandates of the Telecommunications Act," the union added.
Open access cable also would provide real benefits to consumers, by giving consumers access to new and diverse sources of information, products and services. This will only result in greater consumer demand for broadband transport services, fueling both network investment and job growth, CWA noted.
"The open architecture of the Internet has fostered an explosion in democratic communications," an achievement the Commission must preserve "as we transition to the ever-widening possibilities of broadband," the union stressed. However, "this openness is threatened by a closed cable Internet access network which would give preferable treatment to affiliated Internet service providers of cable operators," CWA cautioned.
The FCC should act quickly to establish rules that will protect an open Internet, not rely on market forces and vague voluntary agreements by cable providers to open access at some future date, CWA said.
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