More than two years after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with Verizon against the FCC over the original “net neutrality” rules, that same court today has ruled in favor of the FCC’s revised rules that regulate broadband internet access as a necessary utility, instead of as a luxury communications service.
Oral arguments for this case, filed nominally by trade group US Telecom, AT&T, and tiny Texas-based service provider Alamo Broadband, took place way back in Dec. 2015, with attorneys for both the FCC and the telecom industry arguing about four core issues before Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan and David Tatel and Senior Circuit Judge Stephen F. Williams.
We explained them in depth at the time, but in general the questions being asked were:
- Does broadband meet the standard to be classified (reclassified) as a Title II telecommunications service?
- Did the FCC follow correct procedures in choosing to rewrite the rule?
- Did the FCC follow correct procedures in including mobile data under the rule?
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The majority of the three-judge panel today ruled in favor of the FCC on all points.
Breaking news. More to come…
In the meantime, feel free to read the entire 184-page ruling [PDF].
by Kate Cox via Consumerist
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