FCC CLOSES REGULATORY GAP BETWEEN CABLE MODEMS, DSL

摘要

Cable companies scored a major victory when the FCC recently ruled that cable modem services are information services with a telecommunications component, rather than cable or telecommunications services. Oddly enough, the Bell companies think the ruling also could give them an important win. That's because the FCC's ruling brings cable and DSL closer to regulatory parity, at least in the eyes of the Bells. The commission earlier this month issued a wireline broadband notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that defined DSL services in the same manner. The Bell companies long have bemoaned that they are more regulated than cable companies, which provide similar services and dominate the broadband market with a 70% share. "This is an enormous step, albeit a first step, toward regulatory parity," said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, senior vice president of the FCC for SBC Communications.