In a second major decision this morning, the Supreme Court has overturned a lower court rulings and handed cable providers (and the FCC) a clear victory. While telphone companies must continue to provide equal access to their infrastructure, cable companies need not follow the same guidelines. Indeed, the justification for this decision hinges on the fact that cable companies are providing content as well as bandwidth.
Does this mean that telephone companies can close off equal access once they provide IPTV services over an xDSL infrastructure? Only time will tell.
-CyclingRoo-
Wow. The comments are really flying on sites like Slashdot. One of the most interesting observations comes from kwilliamyoungatl who said, “They ruled on the Telecom *Act*. Congress can change the act with a majority vote and the signature of the president.” That’s right. So how quickly before the phone companies and cable competitors lobby for changes?