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from: Technology Daily

Senate Panel Won't Pursue Sweeping Telecom Measure

By David Hatch

(Tuesday, January 23) Senate Commerce Committee officials confirmed that Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, will pursue a series of small, targeted telecommunications bills -- and not sweeping legislation.

"There very likely will not be a comprehensive bill," said Teri Rucker, Inouye's spokeswoman.

Some congressional sources suggested that Inouye is taking that approach to avoid the controversy that stalled efforts by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the previous chairman, to pass a major telecom bill last year.

But another source said Inouye prefers the agility of the targeted approach as a way to move quickly on urgent matters.

"I don't see a broad comprehensive bill like last year. The Bells have gone away," a Democratic staffer said.

AT&T, BellSouth (now part of AT&T) and Verizon Communications were strong proponents of GOP-sponsored deregulatory legislation in 2006, but have backed off from seeking a bill now that the Democrats are in charge.

The Democratic staffer added that the cable industry appears to be content with the regulatory status quo.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., is quietly planning a series of hearings on so-called network neutrality.

Such a move could set the stage for a renewed effort by Democrats to regulate high-speed Internet services offered by telecom and cable giants.

Markey is the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. His office confirmed that hearings eventually would be held on the subject but said no decisions have been made about the details.

An industry source said the focus of the planned hearings would be "educational" and "exploratory."

Last year, Markey was among the strongest proponents of adding network neutrality safeguards to Republican-led deregulatory legislation. But the language was rebuffed and the bill sailed through the House without it.

Stevens blamed controversy over net neutrality for stalling his counterpart telecom bill, killing any hopes of overhauling the nation's telecom laws in the 109th Congress.

What the lack of comprehensive telecom legislation, at least on the Senate side, might mean for net neutrality remains unclear.

Markey has a stand-alone neutrality measure and Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, D-Maine, have reintroduced a similar bill in the Senate. But targeted legislation on the subject is generally considered a longshot.

AT&T recently accepted a two-year net neutrality restriction as a condition for FCC approval of its merger with BellSouth AT&T.

The deal was approved in December, and AT&T's acceptance of the temporary mandate has galvanized network neutrality advocates.

But AT&T spokeswoman Claudia Jones emphasized that despite the condition, the company remains opposed to neutrality regulations, which it considers unnecessary.

"We don't think there needs to be any net neutrality laws, period," she emphasized.