FCC removing IPTV bottlenecks
No, we don't mean they're cleaning the bandwidth pipes with digital Roto-Rooter; they're trying to ensure that state and local governments don't hinder IPTV implementations. From a legislative perspective, IPTV is bound to get interesting and is starting to remind me of the Telecom Act of 1996; that's the one that, for example, opened up phone markets to CLEC's or Competitive Local Exchange Carriers.
It was a much different world in 1996; now that we have widespread broadband penetration and content that can be sent or received from literally anywhere, the industry might need some new rules. The FCC doesn't want local authorities to block entry to the new market and I see this as a positive for the industry and the consumer. You can read a Word doc with the FCC's approach here.
Like it or not, this is reminiscent of the 1980's when there were "Mom and Pop" cable operators everywhere. As the cable industry matured, we saw consolidation and competition. Guess what folks; we can't have barrier to competition when an infrastructure like the Internet really has no barriers. I applaud the FCC for taking the early initiative: what do you think, good call for IPTV or bad for business?
