Definitions[]
General[]
A common carrier is a company that is recognized by an appropriate regulatory agency as providing communications service to the general public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Common carriers cannot exercise any control over the content of the messages they carry.
Telecommunications[]
A common carrier is
| “ | a telecommunications company that holds itself out to the public for hire to provide communications transmission services. Note: In the United States, such companies are usually subject to regulation by federal and state regulatory commissions.[1] | ” |
| “ | [a] private data communications utility company or a government organisation that furnishes communications services to the general public and that is usually regulated by local, state or federal agencies. Often, PTTs provide these services outside the USA; telcos inside.[2] | ” |
| “ | any person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio or in interstate or foreign radio transmission of energy, except where reference is made to common carriers not subject to this Act; but a person engaged in radio broadcasting shall not, insofar as such person is so engaged, be deemed a common carrier.[3] | ” |
Overview[]
A common carrier cannot control message content.
References[]
- ↑ Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, at B-2.
- ↑ Glossary of Communication Electronic Terms, at 2-39.
- ↑ 47 U.S.C. §153(10).