II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2572

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to promote deployment of advanced services and foster the development of competition for the benefit

of consumers in all regions of the Nation by relieving unnecessary burdens on the Nation’s two percent local exchange telecommunications

carriers, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 16, 2000

Mr. BURNS (for himself, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. ENZI, Mr. GRAMS, and Mrs. LINCOLN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to promote deployment of advanced services and foster the development

of competition for the benefit of consumers in all regions

of the Nation by relieving unnecessary burdens on the

Nation’s two percent local exchange telecommunications

carriers, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Facilitating Access to

3 Speedy Transmissions for Networks, E-commerce, and

4 Telecommunications Act’’ or the ‘‘FASTNET Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

7 (1) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was

8 enacted to foster the rapid deployment of advanced

9 telecommunications and information technologies

10 and services to all Americans by promoting competi11 tion and reducing regulation in telecommunications

12 markets nationwide.

13 (2) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 spe14 cifically recognized the unique abilities and cir15 cumstances of local exchange carriers with fewer

16 than two percent of the Nation’s subscriber lines in17 stalled in the aggregate nationwide.

18 (3) Given the markets two percent carriers typi19 cally serve, such carriers are uniquely positioned to

20 accelerate the deployment of advanced services and

21 competitive initiatives for the benefit of consumers

22 in less densely populated regions of the Nation.

23 (4) Existing regulations are typically tailored to

24 the circumstances of larger carriers and therefore

25 often impose disproportionate burdens on two per26 cent carriers, impeding such carriers’ deployment of
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1 advanced telecommunications services and competi2 tive initiatives to consumers in less densely popu3 lated regions of the Nation.

4 (5) Reducing regulatory burdens on two percent

5 carriers will enable such carriers to devote additional

6 resources to the deployment of advanced services

7 and to competitive initiatives to benefit consumers in

8 less densely populated regions of the Nation.

9 (6) Reducing regulatory burdens on two percent

10 carriers will increase such carriers’ ability to respond

11 to marketplace conditions, allowing them to accel12 erate deployment of advanced services and competi13 tive initiatives to benefit consumers in less densely

14 populated regions of the Nation.

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

16 (1) to accelerate the deployment of advanced

17 services and the development of competition in the

18 telecommunications industry for the benefit of con19 sumers in all regions of the Nation, consistent with

20 the Telecommunications Act of 1996, by reducing

21 regulatory burdens on local exchange carriers with

22 fewer than two percent of the Nation’s subscriber

23 lines installed in the aggregate nationwide;

24 (2) to improve such carriers’ flexibility to un25 dertake such initiatives; and
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1 (3) to allow such carriers to redirect resources

2 from paying the costs of such regulatory burdens to

3 increasing investment in such initiatives.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

5 Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

6 U.S.C. 153) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(53) TWO PERCENT CARRIER.—The term ‘two

9 percent carrier’ means a local exchange carrier with

10 fewer than two percent of the Nation’s subscriber

11 lines installed in the aggregate nationwide, within

12 the meaning of section 251(f)(2) and that meets the

13 requirements of section 251(h).’’.

14 SEC. 4. REGULATORY RELIEF FOR TWO PERCENT

15 CARRIERS.

16 Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 is

17 amended by adding at the end thereof a new Part IV as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘PART IV—PROVISIONS CONCERNING TWO

20 PERCENT CARRIERS

21 ‘‘SEC. 281. REDUCED REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR

22 TWO PERCENT CARRIERS.

23 ‘‘(a) COMMISSION TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT DIF24 FERENCES.—In adopting rules that apply to incumbent

25 local exchange carriers, the Commission shall adopt sepa-
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1 rate and less burdensome regulatory, compliance, or re2 porting requirements, or exemptions from such require3 ments, or both, for two percent carriers that take into ac4 count the more limited resources available to such carriers

5 and the greater burden such rules impose on such carriers

6 and their customers.

7 ‘‘(b) EFFECT OF RECONSIDERATION OR WAIVER.—

8 If the Commission adopts a rule that applies to incumbent

9 local exchange carriers and does not adopt such separate

10 and less burdensome regulatory, compliance, or reporting

11 requirements, or exemptions from such requirements, for

12 two percent carriers and if a two percent carrier or car13 riers seek a waiver or reconsideration of the rule as adopt14 ed in accordance with the Commission’s rules, the Com15 mission shall not enforce the rule against such carrier or

16 carriers unless and until the Commission adopts separate

17 and less burdensome requirements or exemptions in ac18 cordance with subsection (a).

19 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REGULATION NOT REQUIRED.—

20 Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the

21 Commission to adopt regulatory, compliance, or reporting

22 requirements of any kind for two percent carriers where

23 none currently exist. Nothing in this section shall be con24 strued to require any additional regulation to be imposed

25 on commercial mobile radio service.
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1 ‘‘(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall

2 be construed to prohibit any size-based differentiation

3 among carriers mandated by this Act, the Regulatory

4 Flexibility Act, the Commission’s rules, or any other provi5 sion of law.

6 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec7 tion shall apply with respect to any rule adopted on or

8 after the date of enactment of this section.

9 ‘‘SEC. 282. LIMITATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

10 ‘‘The Commission shall not require a two percent

11 carrier—

12 ‘‘(1) to file cost allocation manuals or to have

13 audited or attested such manuals; or

14 ‘‘(2) to file Automated Reporting and Manage15 ment Information Systems (ARMIS).

16 ‘‘SEC. 283. INTEGRATED OPERATION OF TWO PERCENT

17 CARRIERS.

18 ‘‘The Commission shall not adopt or enforce any reg19 ulation the purpose or effect of which is to impair the abil20 ity of a two percent carrier to integrate its operations in

21 one or more entities, at its discretion. Such operations

22 may include the provision of common carrier and non23 common carrier services, including local and interexchange

24 services, commercial mobile radio services, advanced serv25 ices within the meaning of section 706 of the Tele-
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1 communications Act of 1996, paging, Internet, informa2 tion or other enhanced services, or other services. The

3 Commission shall not require companies to which this

4 paragraph applies to maintain separate officers, directors,

5 or other personnel, network facilities, buildings, research

6 and development departments, books of account, financ7 ing, marketing, provisioning, or other operations.

8 ‘‘SEC. 284. PARTICIPATION IN TARIFF POOLS AND PRICE

9 CAP REGULATION.

10 ‘‘(a) NECA POOL.—The participation or withdrawal

11 from participation by a two percent carrier of one or more

12 study areas in the common line tariff administered and

13 filed by the National Exchange Carrier Association or any

14 successor tariff or administrator shall not obligate such

15 carrier to participate or withdraw from participation in

16 such tariff for any other study area.

17 ‘‘(b) PRICE CAP REGULATION.—A two percent car18 rier may elect to be regulated by the Commission under

19 price cap rate regulation, or elect to withdraw from such

20 regulation, for one or more of its study areas at any time.

21 The Commission shall not require a carrier making an

22 election under this paragraph with respect to any study

23 area or areas to make the same election for any other

24 study area.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 285. REVIEW OF MERGERS.

2 ‘‘Except as required by section 310(f), the Commis3 sion shall have no authority to approve, disapprove, delay,

4 condition, or modify the terms of any merger between two

5 percent carriers or their affiliates, or any acquisition, di6 rectly or indirectly, by a two percent carrier or its affiliate

7 of the securities or assets of another two percent carrier

8 or its affiliate, if after the merger, the resulting entry

9 would still be a two percent carrier.

10 ‘‘SEC. 286. DEPLOYMENT OF NEW TELECOMMUNICATIONS

11 SERVICES BY TWO PERCENT COMPANIES.

12 ‘‘Two percent carriers shall be permitted to introduce

13 new interstate telecommunications services by filing a tar14 iff on one day’s notice showing the charges, classifications,

15 regulations and practices therefor, without obtaining a

16 waiver, or make any other showing before the Commission

17 in advance of the tariff filing. The Commission shall not

18 have authority to approve or disapprove the rate structure

19 for such services shown in such tariff.

20 ‘‘SEC. 287. ENTRY OF COMPETING CARRIER.

21 ‘‘(a) PRICING FLEXIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any

22 other provision of this Act, any two percent carrier shall

23 be permitted to deaverage its interstate switched or special

24 access rates, file tariffs on one day’s notice and file con25 tract-based tariffs for interstate switched or special access

26 services immediately upon certifying to the Commission
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1 that a telecommunications carrier unaffiliated with such

2 carrier has engaged in facilities-based entry or resale3 based entry within such carrier’s service area.

4 ‘‘(b) PRICING DEREGULATION.—Notwithstanding

5 any other provision of this Act, the Commission shall have

6 no authority to regulate the rates for interstate services

7 provided by a two percent carrier immediately upon certi8 fying to the Commission by such carrier that a local ex9 change carrier that is not a two percent carrier has en10 gaged in facilities-based entry within such two percent car11 rier’s service area.

12 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION IN EXCHANGE CARRIER ASSO13 CIATION TARIFF.—A two percent carrier that meets the

14 requirements of subsection (a) or (b) of this section with

15 respect to one or more study areas shall be permitted to

16 participate in the common line tariff administered and

17 filed by the National Exchange Carrier Association or any

18 successor tariff or administrator, by electing to include

19 one or more of its study areas in such tariff.

20 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

21 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES-BASED ENTRY.—The term ‘fa22 cilities-based entry’ means, within the service area of

23 a two percent carrier—

24 ‘‘(A) the provision or procurement of local

25 telephone exchange switching capability; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the provision of local exchange service

2 to at least one unaffiliated customer.

3 ‘‘(2) RESALE-BASED ENTRY.—The term ‘resale4 based entry’ means, within the service area of a two

5 percent carrier, the provision of telecommunications

6 service using resale offered under section 251(c).

7 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT-BASED TARIFF.—The term

8 ‘contract-based tariff’ shall mean a tariff based on

9 a service contract entered into between a two per10 cent carrier and one or more customers of such car11 rier. Such tariff shall include—

12 ‘‘(A) the term of the contract, including

13 any renewal options;

14 ‘‘(B) a brief description of each of the

15 services provided under the contract;

16 ‘‘(C) minimum volume commitments for

17 each service, if any;

18 ‘‘(D) the contract price for each service or

19 services at the volume levels committed to by

20 the customer or customers;

21 ‘‘(E) a brief description of any volume dis22 counts built into the contract rate structure;

23 and
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1 ‘‘(F) a general description of any other

2 classifications, practices, and regulations affect3 ing the contract rate.

4 ‘‘(4) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘service area’

5 has the same meaning as in section 214(e)(5).

6 ‘‘SEC. 288. SAVINGS PROVISION.

7 ‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed to diminish

8 the rights of rural telephone companies otherwise accorded

9 by this Act, or the rules, policies, procedures, guidelines,

10 and standards of the Commission as of the date of enact11 ment of this section.’’.

12 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON MERGER REVIEW.

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 310 of the Communica14 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 310) is amended by adding

15 at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(f) DEADLINE FOR MAKING PUBLIC INTEREST DE17 TERMINATION.—

18 ‘‘(1) TIME LIMIT.—In connection with any

19 merger between two percent carriers, or the acquisi20 tion, directly or indirectly, by a two percent carrier

21 or its affiliate of the securities or assets of another

22 two percent carrier or its affiliate, the Commission

23 shall make the determination required by subsection

24 (d) of this section not later than 45 days after the

25 date the application is submitted to the Commission.
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1 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL ABSENT ACTION.—If the Com2 mission does not approve or deny an application as

3 described in paragraph (1) by the end of the period

4 specified, the application shall be deemed approved

5 on the day after the end of such period. Any such

6 application deemed approved under this subsection

7 shall be deemed approved without conditions.’’.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec9 tion shall apply with respect to any application that is sub10 mitted to the Commission on or after the date of enact11 ment of this Act. Applications pending with the Commis12 sion on the date of enactment of this Act shall be subject

13 to the requirements of this section as if they had been

14 filed with the Commission on the date of enactment of

15 this Act.

16 SEC. 6. TIME LIMITS FOR ACTION ON PETITIONS FOR

17 RECONSIDERATION OR WAIVER.

18 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 405 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 405) is amended by adding

20 to the end the following:

21 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED ACTION REQUIRED.—

22 ‘‘(1) TIME LIMIT.—Within 90 days after receiv23 ing from a two percent carrier a petition for recon24 sideration filed under this section or a petition for

25 waiver of a rule, policy, or other Commission re-
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1 quirement, the Commission shall issue an order

2 granting or denying such petition. If the Commission

3 fails to act on a petition for waiver subject to the

4 requirements of this section within this 90-day pe5 riod, the relief sought in such petition shall be

6 deemed granted. If the Commission fails to act on

7 a petition for reconsideration subject to the require8 ments of this section within this 90 day period, the

9 Commission’s enforcement of any rule the reconsid10 eration of which was specifically sought by the peti11 tioning party shall be stayed with respect to that

12 party until the Commission issues an order granting

13 or denying such petition.

14 ‘‘(2) FINALITY OF ACTION.—Any order issued

15 under paragraph (1), or any grant of a petition for

16 waiver that is deemed to occur as a result of the

17 Commission’s failure to act under paragraph (1),

18 shall be a final order and may be appealed.’’.

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec20 tion shall apply with respect to any petition for reconsider21 ation or petition for waiver that is submitted to the Com22 mission on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

23 Pending petitions for reconsideration or petitions for waiv24 er shall be subject to the requirements of this section as
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1 if they had been filed on the date of enactment of this

2 Act.

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