Former FCC Comr. Harold Furchtgott-Roth thinks the FCC may have r...

Former FCC Comr. Harold Furchtgott-Roth thinks the FCC may have reached agreement with the Bush Administration on how to handle cable modem service. In N.Y. Sun op-ed, Furchtgott-Roth said the timing was curious on a rulemaking on CALEA and broadband set to be unveiled today (Wed.). He noted the item comes just as the Administration is considering whether to appeal the Brand X case, in which an appeals court found that cable modem service is at least partly a telecom service. If the service is classed within telecom, it could be subject to fees and additional regulation, which FCC Chmn. Powell has generally opposed. But if it’s not a telecom service, then it may also be out of the reach of law enforcement at a time when the war on terror has gained paramount importance in the eyes of lawmakers. “This week’s urgency of the FCC to seek comments on new proposed rules for broadband and CALEA may indicate that a deal has been struck within the administration,” Furchtgott- Roth wrote: “The administration could appeal Brand X to protect the cable industry while permitting the law enforcement community to have greater discretion under CALEA to wage the war on terror.” He said the war on terror may have overshadowed telecom policy in this case: “Let’s hope that the cable industry doesn’t suffer collateral damage from September 11.”