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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Ind. Law - Senate approves telecommunications overhaul

"Senate OKs bill changing telecommunication rules: Deregulation, Internet access at measure's core" is the headline to this Lesley Stedman Weidenbener report in today's Louisville Courier Journal. Some quotes:

The Indiana Senate gave overwhelming approval yesterday to a bill that removes price controls and most regulation of local phone service.

Senate Bill 245, approved 40-6, now goes to the House for consideration.

The bill would permit companies to raise rates modestly for three years if they make high-speed Internet services available to at least half the customers in a telephone exchange. But after 2009 phone rates no longer would be capped and companies could charge whatever they want.

Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said removing regulation will free companies to invest more in Indiana. He said it would encourage them to expand and upgrade their networks so more Hoosiers can receive the benefits of high-speed Internet.

Also, the bill allows companies that want to provide cable — or video service — to get blanket permission from the state, rather than negotiating one-by-one with individual communities. * * *

Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, the only Republican to vote against the bill, said it doesn't do enough to protect customers from rate increases and does nothing to require the deployment of high-speed Internet service, especially in rural areas.

Customers in cities who have multiple choices for phone service probably will fare well under the bill, he said, but those in smaller communities could suffer. "I hope I'm wrong, but it's a tremendous leap of faith," Ford said of the bill. "We're getting absolutely nothing in return ... for giving up everything." * * *

Traditional cable companies oppose the legislation because they are conducting business under the local franchise agreements, which typically require them to build their networks to reach all buildings in entire communities. The state franchise would not include that requirement for new companies — such as phone companies — that want to provide video services.

"Senate OKs telecom package: Area legislator fears lapses in rural phone, broadband service" is the headline to this story in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette by Niki Kelly. Some quotes:
There are three major components to the legislation:

• One would allow phone companies to raise rates $1 a year for basic phone service if they provide broadband to 50 percent of the homes in a phone exchange. That minimal increase is for the first three years, after which the company would be free from price controls and could raise rates at will. An amendment does prevent phone companies from charging by the minute for basic phone service.

• A second part would institute statewide video franchising authority instead of having cable companies negotiate with individual communities to provide service. Opponents worry that service levels and other promises from those negotiations would disappear.

• Another section makes it more difficult for municipalities to offer broadband service.

The purpose of the bill is to make the telecommunications market more competitive and possibly cost less in the future. * * *

Several lawmakers noted that the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission recently issued an order that the state’s telephone industry has not developed enough competitively to deregulate. [Access the 50-page IURC order via this ILB entry from Dec. 10, 2005.]

Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, said there is no guarantee in the bill that broadband will be available to more people, and he said rural areas are losing basic phone service protections. “It’s a tremendous leap of faith,” he said. “We’re getting absolutely nothing in return, as far as I can see, for giving up everything.”

[Use this link to create a list of ILB entries involving telecommunications from this year and last.]

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 25, 2006 07:21 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law