The FCC’s controversial Open Internet rules remain a judicial target, with CTIA and other trade groups seeking a rehearing on the case
A handful of telecom trade groups, including mobile specific representative CTIA, filed petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to take a look at the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet rules.
The filing, which was made last week, is seeking a rehearing on the order that forbids interference with the transmission of content over the internet. The policy, which was adopted early last year and put into place in mid-2015, was upheld this past June by the same court now asked to review the case. Following up on the court decision, a number of telecom groups said they planned to appeal the decision, including comments from CTIA and AT&T.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who at one time headed up CTIA, continued to back the government agency’s position in the matter.
“It comes as no surprise that the big dogs have challenged the three-judge panel’s decision,” Wheeler noted in a statement. “We are confident that the full court will agree with the panel’s affirmation of the FCC’s clear authority to enact its strong Open Internet rules, the reasoned decision-making upon which they are based and the adequacy of the record from which they were developed.”
Opponents had initially filed a lawsuit against the move, stating the FCC did not have the authority to regulate internet access. Initial opponents included some telecom operators, with Verizon Communications as one of the more vocal opponents, claiming the move would impact its long-term investment into broadband networks. However, moods appeared to turn over the past several months as some telecom operators threw their support behind the measure, while even Verizon Communications attempted to curate its own view on how it plans to abide by the ruling.
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