House Aide: Telecom Reform to Focus on IP Issues First

Other reforms will come later, Weiss said. For example, the committee foresees action on universal service contributions being addressed in a “completely separate” bill later this year or early next, he said. “We want to first figure out all the different dynamics that funding will come from,” he said. Weiss, sitting in for Committee Chief of Staff Bud Albright, said he based his comments on “committee notes” and that they didn’t necessarily reflect Fossella’s views.

Weiss indicated the IP bill might address a key issue facing Bell companies as they prepare to offer fiber-based IP TV: Preemption of local franchising authority for IP broadband services. Verizon has said completing local franchising processes in 10,000 communities threatens to delay its new service. Weiss said if such relief were offered it probably would be subject to qualifications. Asked if such regulatory relief, if granted, also would apply to cable providers, Weiss said he didn’t know because it would depend on definitions.

Weiss said the IP bill would be based on several “principles:” (1) IP and broadband services are “inherently interstate” and thus “to the extent they are regulated at all they should be regulated at the federal level.” That means states shouldn’t regulate these services, even though they regulate traditional telephone service, he said. That also means “local franchising authorities should not regulate IP broadband video services,” he said. (2) The “net freedoms” concept advanced by ex-FCC Chmn. Michael Powell and others. Net freedoms includes assurances consumers can use networks without interference and can attach their own devices if there’s no harm to networks. (3) VoIP providers should have to give consumers access to 911 dispatchers. (4) They also should “accept each other’s voice traffic and compensate each other for the termination of voice traffic.”

The committee’s principles also stipulate that after providing the basic network freedoms to consumers, “broadband providers should be subject to little regulation,” Weiss said: “In particular, no broadband provider should have to share IP broadband facilities regardless of their legacy regulation.” Weiss said lawmakers, including his boss, want to make sure rules don’t impede deployment of new broadband services. Investment bankers would like to see businesses spend “less time figuring out the rules and more time providing services,” he said.

On a later panel, Washington lobbyists called the separate-bill approach Weiss outlined a laudable goal, but said such bills rarely escape the mire of multiple issues. “It’s always ideal to limit the scope, but if a legislative vehicle looks like it’s going to pass, everyone wants to put their amendments on it,” said BellSouth Vp Ward White. Cheryl Leanza, National League of Cities legislative counsel, said she wasn’t surprised the panel would start with a bill on Internet services, but “issues get more complex as you go on so it may be harder at the end of the day to keep universal service out of the discussion.” Leanza said she expects the Senate to act more quickly on universal service.

Cox Enterprises Vp Alexandra Wilson said before Congress considers taking away local govts.’ franchise authority, it should weigh local govt.’s role in consumer protection, anti-red lining rules and other areas. “Basic telephone service should be regulated; everything else should not be regulated,” said White.

Mike O'Reilly, aide to Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.), said “almost everything is going to be on the table” when the Senate begins discussing action on telecom reform. “My boss sees the Senate acting this year on a legislative vehicle” that could go to conference at the end of the year or early next.