A wide-ranging telecommunications reform bill approved by a US
House committee late Wednesday will drive down cable TV prices and
increase demand for broadband services, said supporters of the
legislation.
The Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act
(COPE) creates a national franchise process for telecom carriers,
such as Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., which are
rolling out television services based on IP (Internet Protocol) in
competition with cable TV. Currently, new providers of cable-like
TV services must get approval in every city where they want to
provide service.
Verizon cheered the House Energy and Commerce Committee's vote
to approve the bill and send it to the full House floor. The
company and the United States Telecom Association also applauded
the committee's vote to reject an amendment that would have
prohibited broadband providers from blocking or impairing their
customers' access to competing Web sites or applications.
The net neutrality amendment, offered by Representative Ed
Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, would have also required
broadband providers that set aside bandwidth for services such as
IPTV to offer the same bandwidth to competing services. Supporters
of net neutrality say that without a strong law, broadband
providers could block content from competitors, or charge companies
extra for their content to have top priority.
The House should pass the bill and not weigh it down with issues
such as "mandating government regulation of the Internet," Peter
Davidson, Verizon senior vice president for federal legislative
affairs, said in a statement.
Net neutrality advocates said they were disappointed in the
committee's vote on the Markey amendment. The approved telecom bill
says broadband providers should not block or impair competing
content, but it would allow the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to investigate blocking abuses only after the
fact, and it would prohibit the FCC from creating new net
neutrality rules.
Supporters including Public Knowledge, a consumer group focused
on online rights, said it will continue to fight for a net
neutrality law.
"We are disappointed but not surprised that the committee voted
to turn over the future of the Internet to the telephone and cable
industry," Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge's president, said by e-mail.
"Neither of those two sectors contributed to the creative
development of the Internet, and neither is known for innovation.
They are known for their desire to control what goes over their
networks."
Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has introduced a
stand-alone net neutrality bill, and two other senators have
floated a second proposal.
The bill, sponsored by committee Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas
Republican, also requires VOIP (voice over IP) providers to offer
customers enhanced 911 emergency dialing service, and it allows
municipal governments to offer broadband data and video
services.
Large broadband providers have fought municipal Wi-Fi
deployments, but the committee rejected an amendment offered by
Representative Lee Terry, a Nebraska Republican, which would have
grandfathered in the 14 states that have passed laws outlawing
municipal broadband services.
Barton doesn't expect many city governments to offer broadband
services, but said they should have the opportunity, especially in
areas where commercial providers are slow to offer service.
If the full House passes the bill, it would then go to the
Senate, where it would go through committee hearings. Congressional
leaders have targeted Oct. 6 as the last day of business for the
year, and Congress will not be in session for most of the month of
August.
icon.
