Western Show - NCTA Outlines Open Access Fight at FCC

Calling the current fight over open access provisions at the FCC the most significant issue facing the industry this year, National Cable Television Association President Robert Sachs outlined the group's arguments against the principle in a press conference Wednesday at the Western Cable Show.

In a filing at the commission, the NCTA said cable modem service should not be considered a telecommunications service because the 1996 TelecommunicationsAct expanded the definition of cable services to include interactive functions like high-speed data service.

Even if the commission were to decide that cable broadband should be classified as a telecommunications service, the 1996 would only require companies to interact "directly or indirectly" with other carriers, the NCTA added. This requirement, the association argues, is met through existing peering arrangements that permit cable broadband subscribers to send and receive email with anyone on the Internet and access online content.