The Telecom Act of 2006 – What Should It Look Like?

Although we don’t always agree, I have a lot of respect for Tim Wu of the University of Virginia Law School and he’s doing some interesting guest blogging over on the Lessig Blog this week. He recently made a post about the principles that should guide the next Telecom Act and lists many that I agree with, some that I do not. Anyway, here’s my own short sketch of what the next Telecom Act should include:

A Simple Framework for The Next Telecommunications Act

First, in general, keep it simple!

• focus on a few simple themes / goals
• cut out unrelated matters entirely
• try to keep it at no more than 10 pages, not 110!

Preamble of Act: 1) a clear statement of the deregulatory purpose of the new Act; 2) reiterate the commitment in the previous Act to a national policy framework in order to provide legal clarity; and, 3) acknowledge the reality of technological convergence and the radically changing nature of this marketplace in light of recent developments

Take a few issues off the table to make the job easier:

• Decide what to cover, and what NOT to cover in the bill
• might want to consider dividing the bill into two or even three measures
• ex: forget about broadcast / HDTV / media ownership / indecency issues

Comprehensive Deregulation Plan for: (a) wireline voice telecom access mandates

• greatly curtail list of shared items; pare it back mostly to the local loop
• include a clear sunsetting plan for any remaining infrastructure-sharing rules

(b) address universal service subsidies / and access charge reform

• try to devise a devolution plan for remaining universal service needs

Immediate Freedom or Continued Regulatory Forbearance for:

• cable (just leave them alone; they are the model here for where we need to go)
• wireless (ditto, but consider expanding auctions and determine unlicensed set-asides)
• high-speed broadband networks (formally firewall it off from traditional telco regs)
• VoIP (same as above + consider limiting state and local tax powers)

Jurisdictional Clarifications:

• Sort out the jurisdictional issues and consider a fairly sweeping pre-emption of state and local regulation on this front just as we did when we deregulated airlines, trucking and railroads.
• Leave states with most or all universal service responsibilities.

Regulatory Classification Issues:

• regulatory parity: consider a “MFN clause for communications” to help level playing field (no carrier should be regulated more stringently than its least regulated rival)
• eliminate distinct Titles and regulatory classifications
• consider allowing common carriers to opt for private carriage status (or vice versa???) (ex: current “Info Services” debate is taking us in this direction anyway)

Procedural Reforms:

• Expanded forbearance requirements or sunsets (2 to 5 years) for any remaining rules
• Scaling back of FCC size and funding (recall CAB example under Dems)

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