Telcos, Cable Seeking Stay Call Broadband Reclassification 'Seismic Departure'
Telco and cable petitioners filed their final brief Thursday in support of their motion to stay two key parts of the FCC net neutrality order, which they called "a seismic departure from the status quo that has prevailed for more…
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than two decades." The American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association filed their response to the stay opposition of the FCC, Department of Justice and others (see 1505220037) a day before the filing deadline imposed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The petitioners said FCC reclassification of broadband Internet access as Title II common carriage under the Communications Act would expose their industry members "to a host of new, ill-defined requirements, and it immediately threatens them with class-action litigation and enforcement actions." They said the reclassification is likely to be set aside as contrary to the Communications Act and promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, citing a host of reasons. "This is thus a paradigmatic case for granting a stay pending appeal," the groups said. "The Internet economy has thrived without Title II mandates, to the immense benefit of the public." Petitioners knocked FCC arguments invoking Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes to claim that case-by-case adjudication can't cause harm. "Petitioners object not to case-by-case adjudication itself, but to a massive regulatory sea change, accompanied by potential class-action litigation and multi-million dollar forfeitures, without any intelligible guidance as to what 'rates' and 'practices' are 'just' and 'reasonable' in the broadband context, and what conduct the newly concocted Internet conduct standard proscribes. Justice Holmes never sanctioned such a regime," they said. Thousands of providers face "immediate and irreparable harm," with the situation "most dire for the hundreds of small broadband providers," they said. The petitioners haven't asked that the four FCC net neutrality rules -- no Internet blocking, throttling or paid prioritization, along with transparency duties -- be stayed. Absent a stay, the commission order takes effect on June 12. The petitioners said at a minimum the court should grant expedited review, which the agency and its intervenors support.