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Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project |
Cable Broadband Internet
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Cable Broadband Internet |
The FCC has concluded that Internet over cable broadband is an unregulated "Information service." |
| Companies | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| DOCSIS 3.0 |
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| Closed | Internet Ventures Petition for access to leased access channels in order to "broadcast" Internet content |
Gulf Power v. FCC |
In construing the pole attachment provision of the Communications Act, 47 USC § 224, the 11th Circuit concluded that Internet access provided through a cable system contains neither a cable service nor a telecom service.
In April 2000 the 11th Cir. Court of Appeals vacated the FCC's Pole Attachment Order. The item at issue in this order is whether the FCC has jurisdiction over facilities (wires) attached to telephone poles. The Court recognized that the FCC had jurisdiction over telecommunications and cable facilities, but that the Communications Act gave the FCC no clear authority attached to poles which is used for Internet access. This again raises the issue of whether cable that is used for Internet access is considered cable, telecom, or something other (this is at issue in the open access controversy). It also raises the question of what about the facility defines its regulatory status - is it the transport layer, the TCP/IP layer, or the communications as a whole. Is cable considered cable regardless of use, or does the fact that TCP/IP is transmitted on top transform cable into something other - and how can that be rationally explained? Previously different facilities fit neatly within different boxes - cable, telecom, wireless, satellite, broadcast. But as these facilities become fungible - as different facilities supply similar or the same services - the old boxes and the different regulations that applied become more difficult to work with. This proceeding, therefore, questions the continued viability of the enhanced versus basis service provider distinction and where Internet communications fits within communications regulatory schemes.
"Cable Labs DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) provides the basis for the development of standardized equipment that enables the offering of new or improved services over the cable network. DOCSIS 1.0 defined standardized ways of communicating high-speed Internet traffic over the channels of the cable network. DOCSIS 1.1 offered the ability to define various tiers of service or levels of quality that could be offered to different kinds of customers. DOCSIS 2.0 specification should enable increased “upstream” throughput, making possible symmetric data services." - Vermont Telecommunications Plan, Sept 2004 P. 1-19
| Cable Standard | Upstream Capacity | Equipment Status |
| DOCSIS 1.0 | 5MBits/sec per 6MHz channel | Currently Available |
| DOCSIS 1.1 | 10Mbits/sec per 6 MHz channel | Expected by December 2001 |
| DOCSIS 2.0 | 30 MBits / sec per 6MHz channel | Expected by 2003 |
Source: Network Magazine, p. 16 November 2001; various
Timeline
- 1996 January Multimedia Cable Network System (MCNS) Partners Ltd formed to set cable modem system specifications
- 1997 March MCNS released draft DOCSIS 1.0
- 1998 Cablelabs begins certification program for DOCSIS equipment
- 1998 March ITU accepts DOCSIS statandard as ITU J.112
- 1999 April DOCSIS 1.1 issued by Cablelabs
- 2001 Dec DOCSIS 2.0 issued by Cablelabs
California :: Colorado :: Florida :: Maryland :: Massachusetts :: Oregon (with the early AT&T v Portland):: Pennsylvania :: Texas :: Virginia :: Washington :: Canada
: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World - Larry Lessig - Larry Lessig : From Technologies to Applications by Shlomo Ovadia, Bernard Goodwin (Editor) Delivering Internet Connections over Cable by Mark Laubach see also Broadband News | Industry News
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