District Court Ruling Reinforces Mixed-Use Rule Validity, NCTA Tells FCC

A U.S. District Court decision enforcing the mixed-use rule reinforces the point that the FCC doesn't need to reopen the order on that rule and shouldn't do so, NCTA told Office of General Counsel and Media Bureau staff, in a docket 05-311 posting Tuesday. The district court confirmed in June in a partial summary judgment order the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the FCC's mixed-use rule valid, NCTA said. It repeated its argument (see 2205100051) that to implement the 6th Circuit decision, the FCC just needs to tweak wording on in-kind contributions, and can use a ministerial order that doesn't require notice and comment. U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted plaintiff/counterclaim-defendant Comcast partial summary judgment on one of its claims against Beaverton, Oregon, which it was suing over the rights-of-way fees the city was charging for Comcast's broadband service provision.