Leased Access Rules Can't Survive First Amendment Scrutiny, Say NCTA, Comcast and Charter

The FCC should conclude that its leased access rules are “unconstitutional,” said NCTA, Comcast and Charter in a meeting Wednesday with Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey and Media Bureau staff, according to an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 07-42. “While we recognized that the agency cannot itself invalidate the leased access statute, we urged the Commission to also take steps to reduce the First Amendment burdens imposed by the current rules,” the filing said. The FCC should eliminate the existing rate formula and allow leased access rates to be determined through negotiations, the filing said. Alternatively, the FCC should allow rates to be calculated using “a tier-specific implicit fee calculation,” the filing said.