Comments of Robert Sachs, President & CEO National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Regarding Ninth Circuit Brand X Ruling
"The Internet has spawned the creation of a new e-commerce economy that is thriving unhindered by government regulation. Cable's 16 million high-speed Internet customers, the beneficiaries of an $85 billion broadband investment by cable companies, already enjoy unfettered access to the Internet and can choose to subscribe to their own Internet Service Provider, home page and search engine. Imposing a 'telecommunications service' classification on cable's Broadband Internet access service and subjecting cable Internet service to legacy common carrier regulation runs counter to President Bush's vision of universal affordable broadband service for all Americans and would deter new investment and impose unnecessary costs on broadband services.
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NCTA is the principal trade association of the cable television industry in the United States. NCTA represents cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the cable industry.