Netizens, prepare to pay more

Dom · Jun 9, 2003, 05:57 PM

The FCC is considering levying an additional tax of up to 9.1 percent on the revenue of cable modem providers. In theory, a cable provider is not required to pass the tax increase along to customers, but in practice, companies tend to do just that. EarthLink said last week that it would raise prices because of digital subscriber line (DSL) taxes imposed by state governments. It's safe to assume that EarthLink will do the same thing if a cable modem tax comes along from the federal government.

So far, few people have paid attention to the FCC's proposal, which began in typical bureaucratic fashion with a reference on paragraph 78 of a 58-page filing in February 2002. Even the FCC has mostly ignored it, spending the past 16 months focusing on broadband deregulation and media ownership rules.

But now that those hotly contested votes are over, the FCC is planning to return to its February 2002 proposal, with D.C. buzz predicting formal regulations by the end of the summer. FCC representative Mike Balmoris told me on Friday: "It is one of the priorities of the chairman. A few of the other priorities--media ownership, triennial review--have been completed. The commission could be tackling that in the coming months."

The origin of this proposal lies in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, in which Congress bowed to rural politicians and special interest groups--including librarians, educators and physicians--and created a Universal Service Fund that's paid for by additional taxes on telecommunications companies.

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Jun 9, 2003, 05:57 PM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Netizens, prepare to pay more The FCC is considering levying an additional tax of up to 9.1 percent on the revenue of cable modem providers. In theory, a cable provider is not required to pass the tax increase along to customers, but in practice, companies tend to do just that. EarthLink said last week that it would raise prices because of digital subscriber line (DSL) taxes imposed by state governments. It's safe to assume that EarthLink will do the same thing if a cable modem tax comes along from the federal government. So far, few people have paid attention to the FCC's proposal, which began in typical bureaucratic fashion with a reference on paragraph 78 of a 58-page filing in February 2002. Even the FCC has mostly ignored it, spending the past 16 months focusing on broadband deregulation and media ownership rules. But now that those hotly contested votes are over, the FCC is planning to return to its February 2002 proposal, with D.C. buzz predicting formal regulations by the end of the summer. FCC representative Mike Balmoris told me on Friday: "It is one of the priorities of the chairman. A few of the other priorities--media ownership, triennial review--have been completed. The commission could be tackling that in the coming months." The origin of this proposal lies in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, in which Congress bowed to rural politicians and special interest groups--including librarians, educators and physicians--and created a Universal Service Fund that's paid for by additional taxes on telecommunications companies. Read More...