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Stevens Unveils Telecom Bill,But Inouye Has Concerns

By David Hatch

(Monday, May 1) A mammoth telecommunications overhaul bill introduced by Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, might list Commerce ranking member Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, as a co-sponsor -- but it does not have his support.

Moments after the bill’s release, Inouye issued a statement saying his co-sponsorship was “in the spirit of bipartisanship” and “not a demonstration of support for the bill itself.”

Wrote Inouye, “At first glance, some provisions will need to be deleted or changed substantially and some issues still need to be addressed." He cited “numerous, substantive objections to the bill in its current form.”

A key concern of Inouye's is the approach to network neutrality, the notion that Bell and cable companies be prohibited from acting as content gatekeepers on their high-speed Internet systems.

Stevens’ measure requires the FCC to report annually to Congress on the matter -- but does not arm it with regulatory authority.

“We cannot ignore concerns about the potential for discrimination by network operators, but the draft appears to do just that by failing to create enforceable protections that will ensure network neutrality,” Inouye complained.

Despite the rhetoric, Stevens left a large window open for Democratic involvement on the 135-page “Communications, Consumer's Choice and Broadband Deployment Act.” He announced plans for two hearings and will not mark it up until after the Memorial Day recess.

“The measure we introduce today is a working draft intended to stimulate discussion and is open for comments and suggestions for change. It attempts to strike a balance between competing industries, consumer groups and local government,” Stevens said during a speech on the Senate floor Monday. “It's our hope that through a process of collaboration, we can draft a bill that truly represents a bipartisan consensus.”

Inouye added that “the chairman is aware of my many concerns and has assured me that that this will be a bipartisan process, and the Democrats will be at the table.”

Gigi Sohn, president of the watchdog group Public Knowledge, was disappointed by the bill’s neutrality provisions but hopeful they would be strengthened.

“The lead time is good. It gives us a little bit of time to organize the forces in the Senate,” she said, while contending that neutrality safeguards must contain enforceable anti-discriminatory protections.

The bill confirms speculation that Stevens was readying a comprehensive measure addressing more than a dozen telecom and media policy issues.

It draws on bills offered earlier by several Commerce Committee colleagues, including Inouye and Sens. George Allen, R-Va.; Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; John Ensign, R-Nev.; John Kerry, D-Mass.; Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The text won praise from the U.S. Telecom Association, which represents AT&T, Verizon and other Bell companies that would win regulatory relief.

Inouye questioned language that would streamline the process for obtaining video programming franchises by placing the Bells and other new entrants under less regulatory national agreements rather than stricter local ones.

Similar language is included in counterpart legislation sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, and approved by his committee last week.

Inouye wants the bill to reflect a set of principles that he and Burns issued in February that reaffirm the role of municipalities in granting video franchises -- but that would also permit quicker franchise reviews.

“At a time of increasing consolidation in the communications industry, it is essential that we guarantee rights of interconnection, promote competition, and restrain anti-competitive behavior, particularly in markets where the Bell Companies continue to have significant market power,” Inouye wrote.

Stevens’ draft includes “redlining” language that prohibits video service providers from denying service to customers based on income, race or religion. It also would revamp the $7.3 billion universal service fund -- designed to lower telecom costs in rural and impoverished areas -- by creating a new fund to deploy broadband in rural places.

The measure makes funds available for improving the interoperability of emergency communications and permits municipalities to offer low-cost broadband service.

In addition, it taps unused broadcast spectrum for the provision of wireless broadband, allows for television anti-piracy technology known as the broadcast flag and addresses other technical issues related to the digital television transition.