Jim Pickrell, President, Brand X, at the Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii

On March 29, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Brand X v. FCC, in which Brand X, a Santa Monica, California-based Internet service provider was seeking to have upheld a 2000 decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that cable modem service was a "telecom service," subject to various regulations, and not an "information service," as determined by the Federal Communications Commission, in which case it would not be so subject.

Jim Pickrell is the President of Brand X. He spoke today with Etopia Media's Entertainment Technology World about the issues raised in this case and about what he sees as the looming threat of a cable/teleco duopoly in the provision of Internet access that would stifle competition and penalize Internet users.

You can listen to the comments on these subjects by Brand X President Jim Pickrell, in their entirety, by clicking here.