Senate Commerce Approves Telecom Bill
By a 15-7 vote, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to send a broad telecommunications bill -- the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act -- to the full Senate for a vote. Its fate there is hardly assured. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) says that the bill may not have the 60 votes it needs to pass the Senate because it doesn't mandate network neutrality. The bill now moves to the floor, where the net-neutrality debate will almost certainly be renewed and more amendments offered. The bill streamlines the video-franchising process, similar to a bill already passed in the House but with more local oversight than the House's more national version. Both bills create a de facto national franchise that will help telephone companies more easily roll out video and broadband service and that cable operators can opt for once a competitor enters the market. But even if the Senate version passes on the floor, the two very different bills must be reconciled. While the House bill was pared back to essentially only video franchise issues by House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton in an effort to get a bill that would pass this session, the Senate bill contains a range of issues including money for emergency communications, unlicensed wireless devices in the broadcast band, labels for analog TV sets, digital TV and radio content protection and more. Sen Stevens has worked hard to accommodate various groups in an attempt to keep the bill both large and passable. It includes elements he reluctantly had to strip from a Senate DTV transition bill. Both Rep Barton and Chairman Stevens have pledged to pass a bill this session, so the House bill must be expanded, the Senate bill contracted, or a middle ground found.
http://news.com.com/Senate+deals+blow+to+Net+neutrality/2100-1028_3-6089...
* Senate Commerce Passes Franchise Bill
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6348269.html
* Senate Bill Eases Telco Entry
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6350789.html?display=News
Senate panel rejects Net neutrality amendment
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday rejected an amendment to bar broadband high-speed Internet providers from discriminating against content or services. The amendment offered by Sens. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, and Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, would have prevented broadband providers from giving priority to any individual company's content or services. The panel tied 11-11 in its vote on the amendment, and Chairman Ted Stevens said it failed.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
* Net Neutrality Vote
http://www.drewclark.com/2006/06/net-neutrality-amendment-fails-11-11.shtml
* Senate Panel Defeats Net Neutrality
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6348259.html?display=Breaking+News
Commerce Committee Narrowly Defeats Build-Out Provision
In an extremely close vote (12 to 10), the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday defeated a phased-in video franchise build-out requirement. The amendment, co-sponsored by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) would have no build-out requirement for the first three years, then a requirement of a 15% building out within two years, then if that were achieved, another 20% until the build-out was complete. But Republican votes, buttressed by the argument that any build-out requirement could scare off Wall Street, barely won the day.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6347946.html?display=Breaking...
* Panel Nixes Build-Out Amendment
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-TGSU1151523448904.html
Senators Fight Taxes on Calls, Connections
Federal taxes on local telephone calls would disappear, and new state and local taxes on Internet connections and cell phones could not appear, under bills that advanced in the Senate Wednesday. In two committees, senators voted to forever block state and local governments from taxing connections that link consumers to the Internet. A temporary ban on such taxes expires in 2007. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who won approval of the ban in the Senate Finance Committee, said he didn't want the Internet to fall victim to taxes like the telephone tax enacted for the Spanish-American War. The Senate Commerce Committee also included the prohibition in a bill designed to create more competition in cable television markets. Sen. George Allen (R-VA) said new taxes would impede the growth of high-speed Internet infrastructure. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) won approval of a similar ban on new cell phone taxes for three years. McCain said consumers already pay about 17 percent of their cell phone bills to the government. The amendment would not affect current taxes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/28/AR200606...
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McCain À La Carte Bill Voted Down
The Senate Commerce Committee voted overwhelmingly not to effectively require cable operators to offer their service à la carte. That vote came as part of the day-long, continuing mark-up of the video franchise/telecommunications-reform bill that is getting larger by the day. As long promised, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered an amendment, co-sponsored by Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA), that would have denied the new streamlined video franchising scheme to video service providers that did not offer their programming per-channel, and it would have denied broadcast-flag protection to TV stations that did not allow their channels to be offered stand-alone. The vote may have been 20 to 2 against, with the co-sponsors the only ones on the "aye" said, but cable programmers should not be sleeping too easy. The committee's message was clearly mixed. Committee Chairman Stevens said he "believed in some a la carte," and said that he thought it would eventually come. The morning was not a total defeat for Sen McCain. His long-pushed effort to add low power FM radio stations to the broadcast band passed overwhelmingly 14-7, though observers noted it has passed the committee before and been defeated further down the line.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6347942.html
* McCain Loses A la Carte Push
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6347938.html?display=Breaking+News
REACTION
Despite Senate Commerce vote, fight to protect open Internet is not over
Statement of Common Cause President Chellie Pingree: "It is extremely disappointing that the Senate Commerce Committee today narrowly failed to approve an amendment protecting our rights to an open, accessible Internet. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) deserve our gratitude for sponsoring this amendment that would have protected consumers' unfettered access to Internet content. We thank the sponsors for their valiant and eloquent fight to pass it. Despite the defeat of this proposal on a tie vote of 11 to 11, this is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning. We will mobilize our activists for the upcoming fight on the Senate floor."
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=810373
Fight for Internet Freedom Moves to Senate Floor
Ben Scott, Policy Director, Free Press: "The tie vote in the Commerce Committee shows the gathering momentum for Network Neutrality across political lines. In the past several weeks, this fundamental principle has moved from obscurity to the center stage in the debate over our nation's telecommunications policy. The issue of Net Neutrality will continue to gain speed as the full Senate takes up a bill that will determine the fate of Internet freedom. The voices of millions of average citizens are just starting to break through the misinformation and lies being peddled by the big phone and cable companies who want to erect tollbooths on the Internet. Across the country, people are catching on to these companies' plans, and they won't forget which leaders stood up for the public interest. We applaud the bipartisan leadership of Senators Snowe and Dorgan on this crucial issue, and thank all of the senators who will carry on the fight for a free and open Internet as this legislation moves forward."
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=157
Senate Commerce Committee Reaffirms Low Power Radio Service
On June 28th, advocates of low power FM (LPFM) radio, a service used by churches, schools, activist organizations, emergency responders, and hundreds of communities, applauded the Senate Commerce Committee's vote to expand the low power FM radio service. The vote approved an amendment to a major telecommunications bill currently before the Commerce Committee. This vote marks a major step towards the expansion of low power FM radio to the large cities of the United States, and potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of other communities across this country. The vote also affirms the Commerce Committee's previous support of LPFM in 2004 and 2005. Senator McCain (R-AZ), a sponsor of the bill, stated that after 2 years and 2.2 million dollars of taxpayer money were spent, the study reaffirmed the FCC's original conclusions in favor of a full low power FM radio service. "I think we ought to send the National Association of Broadcasters a bill for that study," said McCain.
http://www.prometheusradio.org/
USTelecom Applauds Senate Action To Bring Video Choice and Preserve Universal Service
The following statement is from Walter B. McCormick Jr., President & CEO of USTelecom: "Today, the Senate Commerce Committee under the strong leadership of Chairman Stevens took a bold step toward real video choice for consumers and ensuring the future for universal service. The bill reported from committee will update our communications laws to reflect today's highly competitive marketplace and unleash a new wave of innovation and economic growth. The Committee should also be commended for its sound judgment in rejecting calls for the government to regulate the Internet."
http://www.ustelecom.org/news_releases.php?urh=home.news.nr2006_0628_2
USTelecom Praises Senate Finance Committee Action To Repeal the Federal Excise Tax
The following statement is from Walter B. McCormick Jr., President & CEO of USTelecom: "We applaud the Senate Finance Committee's action today to repeal the remaining portion of the federal excise tax that customers who subscribe to local telephone service only are still forced to pay. Basic communications should not be taxed as a luxury and repealing this regressive tax is long overdue. We look forward to seeing the repeal of this outdated tax this year. Additionally, we applaud the Committee's action to amend the Chairman's mark to include provisions to update the rules governing wireless depreciation and broadband expensing, along with making the Internet Tax Moratorium permanent. We appreciate Senator Santorum for proposing this bill and Senator Grassley for leading it through the Committee."
http://www.ustelecom.org/news_releases.php?urh=home.news.nr2006_0628