FCC to Back Cable Firms on Web Access

AT&T; Corp. and the rest of the cable industry are likely to get a boost from the Federal Communications Commission next week in their legal battle to avoid local regulation of new high-speed cable Internet services.

The agency plans to file an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief Monday siding with AT&T; in the No. 2 cable firm’s effort to overturn a Portland, Ore., rule allowing competing Internet service providers access to its system.

In May, the U.S. District Court in Portland upheld the city’s right to impose so-called open access requirements on AT&T;, sparking other cities to consider similar regulations and knocking down share prices of cable company stocks.

The FCC has twice decided to monitor--but not to regulate--the nascent cable Internet market, and the agency’s brief could sway an appeals court to overturn the earlier ruling.