8 Liberal Groups Skeptical About Common Carrier Regulation of Broadband

Eight liberal advocacy groups signaled skepticism with a Federal Communications Commission plan for regulating broadband access as a common carrier service.

In a letter to Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), eight groups called for Congress to restore FCC authority over broadband after an April appeals court ruling appeared to undercut the commission's authority.

The Communications Workers of America, the Minority Media and Telecom Council, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Sierra Club signed the letter.

Doubts about reclassification stem from the possibility that it could complicate the regulatory situation and lead to protracted litigation, according to CWA spokeswoman Debbie Goldman.

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