Tauzin-Dingell Is Evil Homepage
The Bells Impeded Broadband Deployment, not the FCC or the States.
Tauzin-Dingell blames the FCC and the states for "impeding" high speed access by imposing regulations.
"The imposition of regulations by the Federal Communications Commission and the States has impeded the rapid delivery of high speed Internet access services and Internet backbone services to the public, thereby reducing consumer choice and welfare."
This is of course not true. Someone hasn't done their homework. State and Federal laws were changed to accommodate the Bell companies' proposed plans, and instead the Bell companies never fulfilled their promises. Take the case of NYNEX's (now part of Verizon) petition to the FCC for their fiber-optic services, According to the Patriot Ledger: "NYNEX to offer cable TV in Boston suburbs" 12/13/94.
"Telephone customers in Boston and its western and northern suburbs will be the first to be offered cable television services by their local phone company, a NYNEX Corp. spokesman said yesterday…." "Federal officials yesterday approved Nynex Corp. plans to offer cable television to customers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts - starting with Somerville…."The long-expected FCC decision, roundly opposed by the cable industry, could propel Nynex into television in 13 communities, some by early 1996, according to company officials."
In fact, NYNEX stated that it would begin immediately to roll-out these services.
"We will begin construction almost immediately. A good bit of it is going to be aerial, on poles. There will also be some underground," Johnson said. (The Boston Herald, 2/8/95, Finance. Pg. 25)
The Massachusetts Public Service Commission also agreed to give NYNEX more money in the form of Alternate Regulation. According to the original NYNEX FCC filing, the Bell stated they would build a fiber-optic service that would replace the old copper wiring (FCC 95-50 ORDER 3/6/ 95)
"NYNEX proposes to deploy hybrid fiber optic and coaxial (HFC) broadband networks that will provide advanced voice, data, and video services, including interactive video entertainment, multimedia education, and health care services."
And how many customers were supposed to be wired ? --- 300,000 in just Massachusetts by 1995 and a half billion was supposed to be spent. .(Testimony from Alternate Regulation 94-50)
"(In Massachusetts, NYNEX will) deploy a fiber-based broadband network, with initial deployment to approximately 330,000 access lines, by year-end 1995.""NYNEX plans to spend nearly half a billion dollars for 330,000 lines in Massachusetts." (Source: NYNEX/NE. Tel, Chair Paul C. O'Brien speech; 7/15/94)
OUTCOME: State and Federal laws were changed. NYNEX pocketed an additional $1 billion dollars in Massachusetts over a three year period. Nothing was built. For a full documented report see: