|
May 10, 2001 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 5:51 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate's top lawmaker on communications issues is casting a wary eye on legislative efforts to loosen government oversight of the regional Bell phone companies. ``I detect no momentum for it in the Senate,'' Senate Commerce Committee chairman John McCain said in an interview Thursday. And if such a bill were to be offered, he said, ``I think the Commerce Committee would look at it very carefully, and I think you'd probably see some changes to it.'' The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved legislation to ease regulation of the Bells -- and, according to proponents, bring new high-speed Web services to more Americans. The bill would allow the Bells to carry Internet traffic in their regions, even along long-distance lines, without having to first meet strict government requirements that they open their local phone markets to competition. The legislation would essentially let the Bells --SBC, Verizon, Qwest and BellSouth -- sidestep portions of a 1996 Telecommunications Act, which said the companies cannot provide long-distance voice or data service until they show that rivals have a chance to get into their local territory. McCain raised doubts about whether the Bells have fostered local competition enough to warrant a reprieve in government regulation. ``I'm not sure the Bells have opened their capabilities to others,'' he said. ``I think we have to balance all of this out.'' McCain noted that the House measure cleared the committee by a narrow margin. The vote was 32-23. ``The closeness of the vote indicated how much controversy there is surrounding this legislation,'' McCain said. Right now, the bills' sponsors, committee chairman Billy Tauzin of Louisiana and ranking Democrat John Dingell of Michigan, are trying to get enough support from House members. Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson said they are trying educate lawmakers about the measure, which is fairly technical. Opponents say they welcome the added time for Congress to study the legislation. ``Our hope and expectation is that, as the legislative process moves forward in the House, there will be sufficient opportunity for proper public debate on the bill's details and dangers, something the Bell monopolies have dodged thus far,'' said Len Cali, a vice president at AT&T, the long distance and cable giant. Bell companies maintain that the bill will benefit American consumers by making it more profitable and appealing to offer high-speed Web connections to a broader market. ``Consumers everywhere want faster and higher quality Internet services. Current regulatory barriers stand in the way of delivering those services to all Americans,'' said Tom Tauke, a Verizon senior vice president. The bill requires the Bells to provide high-speed Internet service in all of their central offices within five years. |