Lawyers Warn Genachowski's 'Third Way' Could be Expensive, Cumbersome

摘要

The sections of the Communications Act's Title II that the FCC would apply to broadband nunder Chairman Julius Genachowski's reclassification plan could still burden operators with ncumbersome rules and expose them to costly legal challenges, communications lawyers nsaid. Sections 201, 202, 208, 222, 254 and 255 would apply after forbearance from other nprovisions of the title. Sections 201 and 202 "are the key provisions of the Communications nAct that have sort of kept behavior in check for almost 80 years," said telecom lawyer Glenn nRichards of Pillsbury Winthrop. "Anything that folks do, they're always thinking about it in nterms of 'Will it cause a 201 or 202 issue?'" There are worries that Section 201 could open nthe door to price regulation, despite assurances that the FCC won't regulate rates. Section n201 "talks a lot about prices, practices" and classification, said Link Hoewing, Verizon's nInternet and technology assistant vice president. "Now I don’t know how the FCC is going to nimplement that, but that clearly looks like there’s talk there about price regulation."