This Could Be a Mess, Both in Higher Prices and Poorer Service

Ouch.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a prior ruling that required cable operators to open up their high-speed Internet lines to rivals.

At issue in the case, FCC v. Brand X, was whether cable operators should be required under federal law to lease their cable lines to competitors, much the way local phone companies were forced years ago to open up their lines to long-distance phone companies.

The justices overturned the U.S. appeals court ruling by a 6-3 vote.

In a separate case Monday, the court ruled that software companies can be held liable for copyright infringement when individuals use their technology to download songs and movies illegally.

The unanimous decision handed the music and movie industries a crucial victory in their battle to curb Internet piracy but it was a big blow to technology companies. (For more on that case, click here).

But the broadband companies, as I recall, often accept federal subsidies to develop that infrastructure, which was the reason they were being told to share.