Less competition in the US?

The Supreme Court in the US has ruled that cable-modem service is an information service. The decision means that cable companies are not required to share their broadband access loops with independent ISPs. The decision is an important win for cable companies as they increasingly compete with telephone companies, but also it is a blow to independent Internet companies, ISPs. The FCC is expected to grant a similar right to phone companies soon and DSL services provided by facilities-based telephone companies should also be classified solely as an information service.

The decision likely will have a major impact on how consumers get Internet service, leaving mainly cable operators and telcos head to head. With just one or two choices for high-speed Internet service, prices could be artificially remained high. Useless to say that cable companies are delighted with this decision, and telcos place hope in gaining same competitive advantage. Losers are obviously small ISPs, but also consumers, who will have limited offerings. So, the consumer groups are not giving up the fight to force open access on incumbent carriers.