FCC chiefs to work through outdated rules

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FCC chiefs to work through outdated rules
Telecommunications Act leaves FCC with few tools to deal with new
issues, commissioners say
By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service
October 13, 2004
<http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/10/13/HNtelecomfcc_1.html? 
source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/10/13/ HNtelecomfcc_1.html>

LAS VEGAS - Three U.S. Federal Communications Commissioners on Wednesday 
said laws governing telecommunications need to be revamped, but said the 
agency will do all it can under the current rules to encourage deployment 
of new technologies and services.

The Commission is faced with trying to regulate technologies that are not 
addressed in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which gives it few tools 
to deal with new issues as they come up, said Commissioner Kathleen 
Abernathy, during a group appearance at the Telecom '04 show in Las Vegas. 
She would like to see Congress rework the law, especially to provide a 
better definition of "advanced services," essentially broadband services 
that accommodate voice, video and data.

  Another issue that needs more clarity is jurisdiction, as wireless 
communication is controlled by the federal government, cable mostly at the 
local level and telecommunications at both levels, she added. The 
overlapping layers of jurisdiction cause uncertainty for service providers 
and raise their costs with the need for more lawyers, she said. Abernathy 
expects the FCC to examine jurisdiction issues over the next few months.

  Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and 
information and head of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration, cautioned against letting the industry get tied up waiting 
for major new legislation, pointing out that 1996 Act took 12 years to 
complete. The danger is that telecommunications will end up like the 
electric power industry, with companies scared off by regulatory 
uncertainty from making investments, he said.

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