RCC: Net Neutrality Ruling Applies in LPPA Challenge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should consider the 6th Circuit’s recent ruling against the FCC’s net neutrality rules as it weighs Radio Communications Corporation’s legal challenge against the agency’s implementation of the Low Power Protection Act…
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(see (2411180040), RCC said in a letter filed in docket 24-1004 Thursday. The ruling, in Ohio Telecom v. FCC, said that the agency can’t alter a statutory definition by adding to it when trying to determine what the best reading is, RCC said. The FCC “altered the LPPA, which on its face protects Low Power Licensees, to protect full-power licensees who are not even referenced in the statute,” said RCC. The low-power broadcaster has argued that the FCC’s implementation of the LPPA protects full-power stations by limiting upgrades to Class A status to a narrow selection of low-power TV stations in small markets. The limits on market size in the FCC’s rules directly mirror the language of the LPPA, the agency has said. A previous attempt by RCC to add to the record in the case after oral argument led to dueling letters between the broadcaster and the FCC and a motion to strike (see 2411250053).