Not long after the FCC denied the request of multiple telecom lobby groups to stay the forthcoming Title II reclassification of ISPs to common carriers last week, the USTelecom lobby group responsible for some of the legal action against the federal regulator has gone forward and made a similar request to the U.S. Court of Appeals. The petition was filed yesterday with multiple groups involved, including AT&T, CTIA, ATA, WISPA, CenturyLink, and NSTA. USTelecom President Walter McCormick stated the following in the petition:
“We are seeking to stay this ill-conceived order’s reclassification of broadband service as a public utility service. “This reclassification does not serve the public interest, but unlawfully paves the way toward expansive government management of the Internet. Once implemented, the order will result in huge burdens on companies of all sizes, and create an open season of regulation and litigation that imposes immediate and unrecoverable costs.”
The Appeals Court has until June 11th to make a formal declaration on the request to stay the reclassification order, with the group requesting a ruling long before then. Otherwise, the new rules go into effect on or around June 12th, which impact the above groups and companies while enforcing stricter regulation and oversight in favor of consumers.
