Telecom Act Reform Only Part of Upcoming Congressional Agenda
A review of the 1996 Telecom Act might not be the only reform coming from Congress next year, staffers said Wed. Lisa Sutherland, telecom aide to Sen. Stevens (R- Alaska), told the ALTS Business & Policy Conference that Stevens would consider reforming the FCC’s decision-making process. Sutherland, who will become the Senate Commerce Committee staff dir. next year when Stevens becomes chmn., didn’t offer any ideas on how the process should be fixed, but told us the telecom industry always seems to be in a state of uncertainty because FCC rulemakings take too long and are held up in lengthy court challenges.
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House and Senate staffers told ALTS that universal service fund and intercarrier compensation reform would be a fundamental component of telecom act reform in the 109th Congress. But telecom reform will also examine issues such as regulatory parity and antitrust protection, staffers said. Accelerating the DTV transition will also be a priority, staffers said, though it’s still undetermined if there will be a large bill to encompass all communications changes, like the 1996 Act, or if these issues will be addressed separately.
Staffers voiced their support for USF and the need to preserve the fund. Sutherland noted that a dial tone in Eskimo villages in Alaska would cost $900 without support from USF. Congress will review how new technologies -- like VoIP -- affect USF support and how to better balance both USF contributions and distributions. Sutherland said long distance providers are carrying too much of the USF contribution burden. There were also questions about the contribution burden for urban residents who pay into, but don’t receive, USF support. Colin Crowell, aide to House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (D-Mass.), said Markey supports the concept of USF, but there need to be controls against abuse. Since Mass. pays more into USF than it receives, residents in urban Mass. shouldn’t be caught with higher bills for basic telephone service than residents of rural states who receive USF. “We pay more for their milk, beef and corn,” Crowell said.
Congressional judiciary committees will stay involved in the telecom reform process, with specific emphasis on preserving antitrust laws, said Rob Tracci, counsel for House Judiciary Committee Chmn. Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). Tracci said Sensenbrenner will push again for legislation that would let violations of the Telecom Act be actionable under antitrust law. Sensenbrenner and House Judiciary ranking Democrat Conyers (Mich.) introduced a bill (HR- 4412) last May that would move away for the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Verizon vs. Trinko, which they said circumvented the antitrust “savings clause” in the Telecom Act.
Congress will take its time to thoroughly review telecom policy, staffers said. Howard Waltzman, senior counsel to House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.), said Congress would act on its own schedule, saying he doubts any telecom legislation will “hinge on when the FCC acts.” Some issues may not need legislative action at all and might be better handled by the FCC, Crowell said. James Assey, Senate Commerce Committee senior Democratic counsel, said Congress will have one major question to answer as it debates telecom reform: “Either we're for facilities-based competitor or we're not.”