Barton Talks Preemption While Stevens Sees Role for States
House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) suggested that federal preemption of states and localities is needed when Congress looks to rewrite telecom law this session. But separately Wed., Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said local govts. should stay involved at least in consumer protection and service quality.
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During a House Telecom Subcommittee hearing on Internet Protocol, Barton said the panel of CEOs all faced different regulations and cited the need for “convergence of regulation.” House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) said legislation would push for “deregulatory parity.” And like Barton and Upton, Stevens said all broadband providers “should be treated equally” instead of facing different sets of regulations.
At the Congressional Internet Caucus State of the Internet conference Wed. morning, Stevens said consumer protection and service quality were issues to be addressed by local govts. He said it would be too difficult for the FCC to handle all service and consumer issues from Washington. “There should be some state and local involvement,” he said.
Stevens also had a veiled warning for the FCC. Reform of the universal service fund and intercarrier compensation regime will be a large part of the Commerce Committee’s agenda, and he said the FCC shouldn’t take it upon itself to make major changes. “Hopefully, the FCC recognizes what we're trying to do,” Stevens told reporters after the event. He also said FCC commissioners -- including those who are leaving -- shouldn’t “rock the boat.”
Stevens laid out how the Senate will address telecom issues this session. He said the “listening sessions” the Committee plans would be off the record and would shape the Committee’s direction. “We don’t want to touch the ‘96 act until we know what we're doing,” Stevens told the crowd. Unlike hearings -- which are too formal and don’t have enough give & take between lawmakers, industry and activists -- the listening sessions will be a way for lawmakers to “dig in and understand” the issues more completely, he said.
Stevens laid out several issues that he would raise during the listening sessions, including: (1) What can we do to remove barriers of entry? (2) How can we keep VoIP free of regulation? (3) Should states be allowed to tax Internet phone service? (4) Is antispam legislation working? (5) How should Internet Protocol video services be regulated?
Witnesses at the House Telecom IP services hearing had their own answers. The witnesses, all of whom are CEOs of TIA member companies, generally urged quick action from the House, and said any action should be deregulatory.
Motorola Chmn. Edward Zander said Congress should act “with a sense of urgency” in reforming telecom laws. Qualcomm Chmn. Irwin Jacobs said more spectrum was needed and it should enforce the Dec. 31, 2006, deadline for broadcasters to return spectrum. Lucent Chmn. Patricia Russo also pushed for more available spectrum. Mike Quigley, Alcatel USA CEO, said the big problem is regulatory uncertainty and recent FCC decisions on broadband unbundling should be codified.
After several CEOs and members continually referred to the U.S.’s meager 13th ranking in broadband deployment in the world, House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) dug into the causes. Siemens CEO Andy Mattes acknowledged that about 1/2 of the countries ahead of the U.S. had publicly subsidized broadband deployment. Markey pointed out that one country continually mentioned -- Iceland -- essentially needed to deploy broadband in only one city, Reykjavik. Mattes noted that all the nations ahead of the U.S. except Canada were significantly smaller, making deployment easier. Zander said most of those countries with better broadband rates have a “mandate from the top” of the govt. to push deployment.
And while the witnesses and members discussed regulatory parity, House Commerce Committee Vice Chmn. Pickering (R-Miss.) made his own distinction. Pickering suggested that “dominant” companies be subject to different regulation than others.
Additionally, at the Congressional Internet Caucus, Sen. Burns (R-Mont.) unveiled his “e-Eleven” agenda, which included: (1) The Spyblock Act, to be co-sponsored by Sen. Wyden (D-Ore.), to combat spyware. (2) Secure funding for the E-911 Act that passed Congress last year. (3) Better enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act. (4) Universal service fund reform. (5) Ensuring that Nielsen Local People Meters count audiences correctly. (6) ICANN reform.