/ 05.25.2010 12:00AM
Democrats Begin Process to Update 1996 Communications Act
WASHINGTON: A group of Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving to update the
1996 Telecommunications Act.
West Virginia Sen. John D. Rockefeller and California’s Rep. Henry Waxman, both
chairman of their respective Commerce Committees, said they and their party colleagues
intended to “start a process to develop proposals to update the Communications
Act. As the first step, they will invite stakeholders to participate in a
series of bipartisan, issue-focused meetings beginning in June. A list of
topics for discussion and details about this process will be forthcoming.”
Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts participated
in the statement, released yesterday.
The move is being interpreted as a response to FCC Chairman Julius
Genachowski’s intention to reclassify broadband service to give the commission greater oversight. Current
telecom law has little to say about the Internet, since it was last revised
before the medium burgeoned. Genachowski brought up reclassification after a
federal court struck down the FCC’s order stopping Comcast from throttling
traffic on its broadband network. (See “Comcast Strikes a Blow
Against Net Neutrality.”)
Waxman and Rockefeller wrote a letter to Genachowski indicating they believed
the commission to have the authority to change broadband’s legal
classification. However, they said the commission “should consider all viable
options” with regard to Internet regulation. “This includes a change in
classification, provided that doing so entails a light regulatory touch, with
appropriate use of forbearance authority.”
Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge, a vociferous opponent of throttling, welcomed a
telecom law rewrite. “The world has changed
considerably since 1996, and Congress should be looking at how the law should
accommodate today’s technology and marketplace.”
The 1996 Telecommunications Act revised the original written in 1934 and
took five years go complete. Little is expected to happen with regard to reform
during the current session of Congress.
-- Deborah D. McAdams