The Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA) has ‘grave co...
The Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA) has “grave concerns” about provisions of Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens’ (R-Alaska) telecom bill. In a letter sent Wed., CCIA Pres. Ed Black told Stevens that his proposal would do “serious damage…
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to innovation and consumer rights, while doing little to promote the national goal of rapid deployment of broadband Internet service.” Black urged Stevens either to make several changes to the bill or delay a vote in order to assess the concerns of innovators, communicators and consumers. CCIA said it hoped greater consensus could be achieved, but with no compromise likely, “it was time to choose,” Black said. Specifically, CCIA said the draft does little to correct distortions created by the Universal Service Fund process and places the FCC at the heart of “a centrally-planned regime for regulating the design of computers, consumer electronics and software.” The Stevens draft burdens VoIP providers with “a layer of regulation soundly rejected nearly a decade ago” and fails to ensure “open and dynamic competition” on the Web. CCIA also took issue with the broadcast flag mandates in the draft. Black said they would make the FCC “the new federal gatekeeper of innovation.”