WISPA Files For Court Review of FCC’s Open Internet Order
Redding, CA (PRWEB) April 28, 2015 -- The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), a membership organization that promotes the development, advancement, and unity of the fixed wireless Internet service provider (WISP) industry, filed a petition (#15-1117) with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals seeking review of the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet decision on the grounds that the rules are arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion and in excess of the FCC's statutory authority, and therefore should be declared unlawful.
WISPA’s members are small- to medium-sized businesses that provide fixed broadband Internet access service to unserved and/or underserved areas across rural America.
The FCC’s decision classifies Internet access as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. This imposes significant new regulatory requirements and unavoidable costs on broadband providers, especially small providers that may lack sufficient resources to meet the unnecessary added compliance, enforcement and litigation risks. These additional costs and risks will chill investment and expansion of broadband in those communities that lack competitive choice. The act also assumes control over prior private investment where no compensation method exists.
“WISPA supports an open Internet, but not to the extent of punishing small providers by regulating them under Title II,” said Chuck Hogg, WISPA’s President. “We believe the FCC’s decision improperly imposes a multitude of new regulatory requirements without the legal authority to do so. This in effect, reverses decades of FCC decisions that enabled competition and undermines the Government’s goal of Internet access to unserved areas.”
About WISPA
WISPA is a membership-driven trade association that promotes the development, advancement and unity of the fixed wireless Internet service provider industry. WISPA has over 800 members that support WISPA’s advocacy, education and other collaborative industry initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.wispa.org.
Alex Phillips, WISPA, http://www.wispa.org, 540.908.3993, [email protected]
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