WASHINGTON-Although the Federal Communications Commission does not regulate the Internet or broadband access to the Information Superhighway, the agency has created a committee to monitor broadband activities and has released a study on how best to ensure all Americans benefit from high-speed technologies.
The FCC has created a Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services to “monitor and collect data regarding the practices of carriers as they deploy advanced services throughout the nation … the joint conference will examine the relevant state and federal regulations to which carriers are subject and whether and to what extent those regulations are affecting the widespread deployment of advanced services.”
The order does not limit the ability of the FCC to take separate, independent action pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Whether continued monitoring by the joint conference is necessary will be evaluated in two years, the FCC said in its Oct. 8 order.
Fixed wireless providers will begin offering residential service in the “near to medium term,” according to an accompanying report released by the FCC’s Cable Services Bureau. Fixed wireless providers first must overcome a number of technical barriers, including line-of-site requirements between the transmitter and receiving antenna. The presence of obstacles such as foliage, buildings, and even heavy rain, can hinder reception.
The report was released last week to bolster the FCC’s current thinking that it should not mandate that cable operators allow independent Internet service providers access to their systems. Public interest groups and some ISPs have argued that unless cable companies are required to open their systems to rivals, consumers won’t have access to a variety of information services.
