The S.C. legislature proved to be unfazed by the FCC’s Triennial ...
The S.C. legislature proved to be unfazed by the FCC’s Triennial Review order as it passed a broadband deregulation bill for that state. But the FCC order led to withdrawal of a broadband deregulation bill in Conn. The S.C.…
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bill (HB- 3344) sent to Gov. Mark Sanford (R) would prohibit the S.C. PSC from imposing any regulation on broadband services or providers. It would allow the PSC to continue oversight of mixed facilities that were used both for narrowband and broadband services and would require that revenue from broadband services continue to count when calculating a telecom provider’s universal service fund contributions. Supporters said the bill would give all broadband providers a level playing field and would encourage broadband service investment. The Conn. bill was withdrawn from the state Senate’s agenda at SBC’s request after the telco told its supporters that it wanted to wait and see what the full ramifications would be from the FCC’s Triennial Review order. The bill (SB-826) would have excluded broadband from the legal definition of telecom services subject to the jurisdiction of the Conn. Dept. of Public Utility Control (DPUC). The effect would have been to deny DPUC any power over broadband services of SBC/Southern New England Telephone (SNET). SBC said it needed to see exactly how FCC and state broadband policy would interact before proceeding with any Conn. legislation, but must wait for release of the full FCC order. Meanwhile, broadband deregulation opponents hailed the demise of the Conn. bill as a boon for consumers and competition.