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Monday, January 09, 2006

Ind. Law - "Hoosiers should be highly skeptical of a proposal to overhaul Indiana’s telecommunications laws"

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial today that begins:

Hoosiers should be highly skeptical of a proposal to overhaul Indiana’s telecommunications laws that will be discussed at an Indiana Senate committee meeting Tuesday.

Proponents are pushing a plan to largely deregulate the telecommunications industry, saying it will bring new services and lower prices to consumers.

Underneath the deregulation hype, though, is a bill that aims to strengthen telephone companies while adding a new layer of cable television regulation that takes away local control.

The Evansville Courier& Press has an editorial that concludes:
A deregulation bill nearly passed the session last year, especially after some consumer protections were amended into the measure, but ultimately it failed in the final hours of the session.

That process will begin anew tomorrow when the bill receives its first committee hearing. Whether it is amended, its passage - if not this year, then soon - seems inevitable and necessary. Competition as we have seen in the Evansville area for wireless, cable and Internet services has been good for the consumer. Ultimately, the state should find that a deregulated telecommunications industry will do much the same for Hoosier consumers statewide.

For background, see this ILB entry from yesterday.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 9, 2006 07:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law