Cable Wins Internet-Access Ruling

From the NY Times: The Supreme Court ruled that cable companies providing broadband Internet services are not bound, as phone companies are, to let competing providers offer services over their lines.

This decision affirms a difference between telecommunications providers, "common carriers" under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, and "information services," which are untaxed, generally unregulated, and (important for public library purposes) not part of the eRate program.

The Court also unanimously held that copyright-infringement suits against file-sharing services Grokster and StreamCast may continue. The Court felt that, unlike VCR's and copy machines, peer-to-peer file sharing networks exist primarily to trade in copyrighted materials. Critics are afraid this will stifle innovation.