A Proposed Device Attachment Statute for Converged Networks

Interconnection of user-side devices and applications to networks has long been a contentious issue, compounded by the emergence of converged broadband networks. Doctors Jordan and Shaffer offer a “unified” draft statute to ensure users the right to connect devices and applications of their choice while ensuring providers the right to reasonable network management. Analyzing current attachment rules for telephony, cable, MVPDs, mobile services, and the Internet, they propose a single set of rules for operating in a converged broadband network environment. They acknowledge that there are difficult issues involved and try to apply a balancing of interests to resolve them.