A glimmer of hope for ISPs that feel threatened by the Feb 20 ruling on broadband regulations by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has arisen from a meeting held at the end of March between Kevin Martin, a key FCC Commissioner, and executives of Covad Communications Inc. (OTC: COVD), a major provider of broadband services.

The meeting has raised hopes in some quarters that the FCC could still change its mind on significant aspects of the proposed regulations -- a possibility, because the full and formal ruling has yet to be published.

The fact that Martin requested the meeting seems particularly significant, because Martin is the only FCC Commissioner to have gotten his way with every aspect of the Feb 20 ruling (see FCC's Martin: Ruling 'Balanced').

It’s also significant that this meeting was pretty much a special case. It’s not one of dozens of meetings with lobby groups, according to the FCC.

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— Ray Le Maistre, Editor, Boardwatch