No Houdinis Needed: FCC Should Take Direct Way to Broadband Authority

[Commentary] There is no lacking for clever minds at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They have all sorts of bright lawyers and economists and the like working on trying to make some sense of the world of telecommunications in all its glory. Last time we checked, however, they didn't have any escape artists on staff. Unfortunately, that's what they will need to try to get away from the restraints put on the Commission by the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Circuit in the now famous case involving Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent. The Court found unanimously that the way the FCC enforced its policy statements for an Open Internet under a general part of the Communications Act (Title I) wasn't legal, and that some of the other sections of the law didn't pass muster, either. It was a pretty strong opinion as these things go. It was crucial because everything that the FCC wants to do to proceed with its broadband strategy is dependent now on questionable legal authority as a result of that court ruling. Let's not get cute here. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and the FCC should take on the fight, meet the issue head on and decide America's broadband future without the need for Houdini-like skills. They should do it because it's the right thing to do.