Blog Post / Broadband Advisor
FCC Agenda for June Open Meeting Dedicated to...Reclassification of Broadband Services
05.27.10
The FCC has released its tentative agenda for its June 17, 2010 open meeting. Unlike recent agendas for April and May, this one is written such that the June meeting will be dedicated to one, and only one, issue - the reclassification of broadband access service as a telecommunications service.* According to the agenda, the Commission intends to adopt a Notice of Inquiry to "begin an open, public process to consider possible legal frameworks for broadband Internet services...." In particular, the agenda highlights three questions from the proposed NOI, paraphrased as follows:1. Whether the information service classification for broadband Internet service remains legally sound and adequate for the Commission to perform responsibly;2. The legal and practical consequences of classifying broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service subject to all the provisions of Title II; and3. The Commission's "third way" approach to regulating broadband Internet service (or at least the transmission components of such service).We previously blogged about this issue already when the Chairman first announced his "third way" approach to reclassification (see an opinion on the "third way" approach here), so we won't get into it again now. But rest assured, June 17 should make for an interesting and eventful day at the FCC.* Of course, the Commission may include additional agenda items as the June 17 date nears, but this issue is obviously big enough to keep everyone busy for the entire meeting.