Pending Telecom and Broadband Legislation,
107th Congress, 2001
In the 107th Congress, to date, there have been 50 different bills presented with the word telecommunications in it. Not all of them will even make it out of committee.
To read a list of bills, click here.
For the best roundup of activity and legislation in Washington see Cybertelecom.org
IMPORTANT: There are two bills that we believe are the most important to customers.
BAD BROADBAND BILL
TAKE ACTION: HELP TO STOP THIS BILL ---- "Tauzin-Dingell"
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001, H.R.1542
Commonly known as "Tauzin-Dingell". Sponsors: Rep Billy Tauzin, W. J. Representative Dingell, introduced 4/24/2001)
NNI Opinion: We've created a section of the New Networks Institute site to explain why this is a bad bill and needs your support to be defeated. It is expected to come to the floor for a vote in the house sometime post-labor-day.
This bill is a Bell-funded, campaign
financed bill to give the local Bell monopolies more of your
money. It is also a clear example of why campaign finance
needs to be fixed. The bill is being presented by Billy
Tauzin, who has many ties to the Bell companies, from the
Bell campaign financing, to having many of the congressmen
staffers coming directly from the local monopoly.
This bill removes the FCC and the states ability to regulate
the Bell's broadband rollout, limits the way competitors can
use the networks, and does not fix any of the current DSL
problems. Worse, it and gives the Bells new financial
incentives to roll out broadband, even though history shows
they already received financial incentives over the last
decade.... and pocketed the money instead of delivering on
their promises.
In short, as the title suggests, the only 'freedom' for broadband is given to the Bells.
Learn More: Go to our site to read the 14 reasons why Tauzin-Dingell is Evil, an FAQ, a list of other groups against this bill, a report and articles about Billy Tauzin's ties to the Bells, among other things.
Take Action: Contact your congressmen and tell them not to vote for this bill.
FIX TELECOM PROBLEMS BILL
TAKE ACTION: SUPPORT THIS BILL --- Enforce the Laws, Break Up the Bells.
S.1364 Telecommunications Fair Competition Enforcement Act of 2001
Sponsor: Senator Hollings, Ernest F.(introduced 8/3/2001)
Title: A bill to ensure full and expeditious enforcement of the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 that seek to bring about the competition in local telecommunications markets, and for other purposes.
NNI Opinion: We've created a section of the New Networks Institute site to explain why this bill needs your support. This bill is a bold move to fix the problems of telecom. Unlike Tauzin, this bill in the Senate has recognized that the Bell monopolies still control telecom and that today, there is no enforcement of the laws to protect competition.
This bill is gives the FCC and the states more power, supplies penalties if the Bell companies misbehave, and forces the companies to separate the wiring and wholesale business for the other retail parts, thus putting the Bell on the same footing as a competitor. This 'break up" is called a 'structural separation" --- We call it Divestiture II.
In short, this bill is a good start at fixing the problems of telecom.
Learn More: Go to our site to read why structural separation and enforcement are necessary to fix the current telecom problems.
Take Action: Contact your Senator and tell them vote for this bill.
Other Bills in Congress.
Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001, S.88
Sponsor: Senator Rockefeller IV, John D.(introduced 1/22/2001)
Related Bills: H.R.267
Latest Major Action: 1/22/2001 Referred to Senate committee
Summary
Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the broadband credit which shall be the sum of: (1) the current generation broadband credit; plus (2) the next generation broadband credit. Defines terms.
NNI Opinion: We would like to support this bill because a solution is needed to deliver broadband to underserved areas. However, we have a fundamental issue about giving the Bells more financial perks--- Before the Bells receive any credits or financial incentives, American telephone subscribers first need to know how much money was previously collected, and what if, anything, did customers get for that money. As we discuss in numerous reports, the Bell companies have received multiple funds by promising to rollout broadband. In many state plans, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Texas, the rollout of broadband was supposed to be done equally for rural and urban, low and high income areas.
However, there has been virtually no accountability of what happened to the billions of dollars collected. Also, when you amortize the collected monies over the entire telephone household population, then there is no difference of high cost areas because the premise is that the urban customers help average--- and therefore fund the entire project.
To see numerous reports and articles on this topic see: http://www.newnetworks.com/BroadbandandDSL.htm
One other point also needs addressing. According to numerous Competitive Local Phone companies (CLECs) their companies are already running at a deficit, so take credits are not as useful as it is to the larger monopoly companies.
Action: NNI has called for a "Broadband True-up", which would investigate all of the monies collected to date for all broadband services --- including schools and library funds, etc.
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