McCain rolls out broadband bill
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/2/2002 6:59:00 AM
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) late Thursday introduced his wide-ranging broadband-deregulation bill.
The bill would make it easier for phone companies to compete with cable in the broadband market by opening "all consumer broadband markets to competition," with all broadband providers subject to the same regulatory scheme.
But it would not require consumer broadband suppliers to provide access to non-affiliated Internet-service providers except for any such arrangements that predate passage of the bill.
The bill would prevent states or localities from doing anything to interfere with the provision of any consumer broadband service. To that end, it would limit rights-of-way fees to "actual costs reasonably allocatable to the administration of access."
According to the bill, neither the Federal Communications Commission nor any state would have regulatory authority over rates, charges, terms or conditions of retail broadband service.
The bill also said a study must be conducted within two years to determine whether state regulation is necessary to protect consumers, as well as a study on the government's role in facilitating wireless broadband.
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