Supreme Court: Cable Can Stay Closed

In its second major decision for the tech industry Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down a lower court's ruling that cable companies must share their infrastructure with competing Internet providers. The 6-3 decision means cable companies can keep their broadband networks closed.

The Communications Act of 1934 regulated telephone lines like railroads: Carriers must allow competitors to access their wire services for a nominal fee in the same way that railroads cannot refuse competitors' trains onto their tracks. All traditional telecom carriers are considered to have a telecommunications component to their businesses, making them subject to the law.

Under the law, Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), including DSL networks, are required to share their "tracks;" however, cable companies are not, because they are defined as "information services" instead of telecommunications services.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled against the cable companies, siding with Internet company Brand X. Brand X and other independent service providers wished to sell their services using cable lines under the "open access" rules that apply to DSL.

But the FCC has recently moved to exempt DSL and other high-speed network providers from the requirements. Those efforts appear to have guided the Supreme Court justices in their decision.

"The commissioners' decision appears to be the first step in an effort to reshape the way the commission regulates information service providers," the majority ruling stated. "That may be why it has tentatively concluded that DSL services provided by facilities-based telephone companies should also be classified solely as an information service."

What is at stake is control over the high-speed lines that have become conduits for a growing array of services ranging from voice over IP communications (VoIP) to Internet Television, as well as other burgeoning wireless and broadband technologies.