IB

Union Calendar No. 54

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1542

[Report No. 107–83, Parts I and II]

To deregulate the Internet and high speed data services, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 24, 2001

Mr. TAUZIN (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr.

ENGLISH, Mr. FROST, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH,

Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. DICKS, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr.

KIND, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. CAMP, Mr.

BALDACCI, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. HOLDEN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York,

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. BOYD, Mrs. NORTHUP,

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. BONIOR, Mr.

MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. BUYER, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. MCCRERY,

Mr. BISHOP, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. VITTER, Mr. BASS, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr.

BLUNT, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. QUINN, Mr. BACA,

Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. BAKER, Mr. WALSH, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr.

WEXLER, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr.

COOKSEY, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SCHROCK,

Mr. PETRI, Mr. WATKINS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.

OTTER, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr.

CUMMINGS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. BURR of North Carolina,

and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

MAY 24, 2001

Reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

MAY 24, 2001

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for a period ending not later than

June 18, 2001 for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amend-
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ment recommended by the Committee on Energy and Commerce as proposed to narrow the purview of the Attorney General under section 271

of the Communications Act of 1934

JUNE 18, 2001

Additional sponsors: Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. GRUCCI, Mr. TURNER, Mr.

GALLEGLY, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. FOLEY, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr.

LEVIN, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. BONILLA, Mr.

FLETCHER, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. RILEY, Mr. REYES, Mr. BERRY, Mr.

SHOWS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Ms. BALDWIN,

Mr. TANCREDO, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. HAYES, Mr. ROSS, Mr.

LAHOOD, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. BROWN of

South Carolina, Mr. SMITH of Texas, and Mr. LATOURETTE

JUNE 18, 2001

Reported with amendments, adversely, from the Committee on the Judiciary,

committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the

Union, and ordered to be printed

[Omit the part struck through in italic and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 24, 2001]

A BILL

To deregulate the Internet and high speed data services,

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Internet Freedom and

5 Broadband Deployment Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Internet access services are inherently inter2 state and international in nature, and should there3 fore not be subject to regulation by the States.

4 (2) The imposition of regulations by the Federal

5 Communications Commission and the States has im6 peded the rapid delivery of high speed Internet access

7 services and Internet backbone services to the public,

8 thereby reducing consumer choice and welfare.

9 (3) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 rep10 resented a careful balance between the need to open

11 up local telecommunications markets to competition

12 and the need to increase competition in the provision

13 of interLATA voice telecommunications services.

14 (4) In enacting the prohibition on Bell operating

15 company provision of interLATA services, Congress

16 recognized that certain telecommunications services

17 have characteristics that render them incompatible

18 with the prohibition on Bell operating company pro19 vision of interLATA services, and exempted such serv20 ices from the interLATA prohibition.

21 (5) High speed data services and Internet back22 bone services constitute unique markets that are like23 wise incompatible with the prohibition on Bell oper24 ating company provision of interLATA services.
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1 (6) Since the enactment of the Telecommuni2 cations Act of 1996, the Federal Communications

3 Commission has construed the prohibition on Bell op4 erating company provision of interLATA services in

5 a manner that has impeded the development of ad6 vanced telecommunications services, thereby limiting

7 consumer choice and welfare.

8 (7) Internet users should have choice among com9 peting Internet service providers.

10 (8) Internet service providers should have the

11 right to interconnect with high speed data networks

12 in order to provide service to Internet users.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—It is therefore the purpose of this Act

14 to provide market incentives for the rapid delivery of ad15 vanced telecommunications services—

16 (1) by deregulating high speed data services,

17 Internet backbone services, and Internet access serv18 ices;

19 (2) by clarifying that the prohibition on Bell op20 erating company provision of interLATA services does

21 not extend to the provision of high speed data services

22 and Internet backbone services;

23 (3) by ensuring that consumers can choose

24 among competing Internet service providers; and
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1 (4) by ensuring that Internet service providers

2 can interconnect with competitive high speed data

3 networks in order to provide Internet access service to

4 the public.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS

6 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Communications

7 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (20) as para9 graph (21);

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (21) through

11 (52) as paragraphs (26) through (57), respectively;

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol13 lowing new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(20) HIGH SPEED DATA SERVICE.—The term

15 ‘high speed data service’ means any service that con16 sists of or includes the offering of a capability to

17 transmit, using a packet-switched or successor tech18 nology, information at a rate that is generally not

19 less than 384 kilobits per second in at least one direc20 tion. Such term does not include special access service

21 offered through dedicated transport links between a

22 customer’s premises and an interexchange carrier’s

23 switch or point of presence.’’;

24 (4) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol25 lowing new paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(22) INTERNET.—The term ‘Internet’ means

2 collectively the myriad of computer and telecommuni3 cations facilities, including equipment and operating

4 software, which comprise the interconnected world5 wide network of networks that employ the Trans6 mission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any

7 predecessor or successor protocols to such protocol, to

8 communicate information of all kinds by wire or

9 radio.

10 ‘‘(23) INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.—The term

11 ‘Internet access service’ means a service that combines

12 computer processing, information storage, protocol

13 conversion, and routing with transmission to enable

14 users to access Internet content and services.

15 ‘‘(24) INTERNET BACKBONE.—The term ‘Internet

16 backbone’ means a network that carries Internet traf17 fic over high-capacity long-haul transmission facili18 ties and that is interconnected with other such net19 works via private peering relationships.

20 ‘‘(25) INTERNET BACKBONE SERVICE.—The term

21 ‘Internet backbone service’ means any interLATA

22 service that consists of or includes the transmission by

23 means of an Internet backbone of any packets, and

24 shall include related local connectivity.’’.

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) Section 230(f) of the Communications Act of

2 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)) is amended—

3 (A) by striking paragraph (1); and

4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2)

5 through (4) as paragraphs (1) through (3), re6 spectively.

7 (2) Section 223(h)(2) of such Act (47 U.S.C.

8 223(h)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘230(f)(2)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘230(f)(1)’’.

10 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REGULATE HIGH

11 SPEED DATA SERVICES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title II of the Communica13 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by

14 adding at the end the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 232. PROVISION OF HIGH SPEED DATA SERVICES.

16 ‘‘(a) FREEDOM FROM REGULATION.—Except to the ex17 tent that high speed data service, Internet backbone service,

18 and Internet access service are expressly referred to in this

19 Act, neither the Commission, nor any State, shall have au20 thority to regulate the rates, charges, terms, or conditions

21 for, or entry into the provision of, any high speed data serv22 ice, Internet backbone service, or Internet access service, or

23 to regulate any network element to the extent it is used in

24 the provision of any such service; nor shall the Commission
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1 impose or require the collection of any fees, taxes, charges,

2 or tariffs upon such service.

3 ‘‘(b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section

4 shall be construed to limit or affect the authority of any

5 State to regulate circuit-switched telephone exchange serv6 ices, nor affect the rights of cable franchise authorities to

7 establish requirements that are otherwise consistent with

8 this Act.

9 ‘‘(c) CONTINUED ENFORCEMENT OF ESP EXEMPTION,

10 UNIVERSAL SERVICE RULES PERMITTED.—Nothing in this

11 section shall affect the ability of the Commission to retain

12 or modify—

13 ‘‘(1) the exemption from interstate access charges

14 for enhanced service providers under Part 69 of the

15 Commission’s regulations, and the requirements of the

16 MTS/WATS Market Structure Order (97 FCC 2d

17 682, 715 (1983)); or

18 ‘‘(2) rules issued pursuant to section 254.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 251 of the

20 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251) is amended

21 by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(j) EXEMPTION.—

23 ‘‘(1) ACCESS TO NETWORK ELEMENTS FOR HIGH

24 SPEED DATA SERVICE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Subject to subpara2 graphs (B), (C), and (D) of this paragraph, nei3 ther the Commission nor any State shall require

4 an incumbent local exchange carrier to provide

5 unbundled access to any network element for the

6 provision of any high speed data service.

7 ‘‘(B) PRESERVATION OF REGULATIONS AND

8 LINE SHARING ORDER.—Notwithstanding sub9 paragraph (A), the Commission shall, to the ex10 tent consistent with subsections (c)(3) and (d)(2),

11 require the provision of unbundled access to those

12 network elements described in section 51.319 of

13 the Commission’s regulations (47 C.F.R. 51.319),

14 as—

15 ‘‘(i) in effect on January 1, 1999; and

16 ‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraphs (C) and

17 (D), as modified by the Commission’s Line

18 Sharing Order.

19 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS TO PRESERVATION OF

20 LINE SHARING ORDER.—

21 ‘‘(i) UNBUNDLED ACCESS TO REMOTE

22 TERMINAL NOT REQUIRED.—An incumbent

23 local exchange carrier shall not be required

24 to provide unbundled access to the high fre-
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1 quency portion of the loop at a remote ter2 minal.

3 ‘‘(ii) CHARGES FOR ACCESS TO HIGH

4 FREQUENCY PORTION.—The Commission

5 and the States shall permit an incumbent

6 local exchange carrier to charge requesting

7 carriers for the high frequency portion of a

8 loop an amount equal to which such incum9 bent local exchange carrier imputes to its

10 own high speed data service.

11 ‘‘(D) LIMITATIONS ON REINTERPRETATION

12 OF LINE SHARING ORDER.—Neither the Commis13 sion nor any State Commission shall construe,

14 interpret, or reinterpret the Commission’s Line

15 Sharing Order in such manner as would expand

16 an incumbent local exchange carrier’s obligation

17 to provide access to any network element for the

18 purpose of line sharing.

19 ‘‘(E) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE ELEMENTS

20 SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENT.—This paragraph

21 shall not prohibit the Commission from modi22 fying the regulation referred to in subparagraph

23 (B) to reduce the number of network elements

24 subject to the unbundling requirement, or to for25 bear from enforcing any portion of that regula-
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1 tion in accordance with the Commission’s au2 thority under section 706 of the Telecommuni3 cations Act of 1996, notwithstanding any limita4 tion on that authority in section 10 of this Act.

5 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATORY

6 SUBSIDIES.—Any network element used in the

7 provision of high speed data service that is not

8 subject to the requirements of subsection (c) shall

9 not be entitled to any subsidy, including any

10 subsidy pursuant to section 254, that is not pro11 vided on a nondiscriminatory basis to all pro12 viders of high speed data service and Internet ac13 cess service. This prohibition on discriminatory

14 subsidies shall not be interpreted to authorize or

15 require the extension of any subsidy to any pro16 vider of high speed data service or Internet ac17 cess service.

18 ‘‘(2) RESALE.—For a period of three years after

19 the enactment of this subsection, an incumbent local

20 exchange carrier that provides high speed data service

21 shall have a duty to offer for resale any such service

22 at wholesale rates in accordance with subsection

23 (c)(4). After such three-year period, such carrier shall

24 offer such services for resale pursuant to subsection

25 (b)(1).
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1 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

2 subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) the ‘Commission’s Line Sharing

4 Order’ means the Third Report and Order in CC

5 Docket No. 98–147 and the Fourth Report and

6 Order in CC Docket 96–98 (FCC 99–355), as

7 adopted November 18, 1999, and without regard

8 to any clarification or interpretation in the fur9 ther notice of proposed rulemaking in such Dock10 ets adopted January 19, 2001 (FCC 01–26); and

11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘remote terminal’ means an

12 accessible terminal located outside of the central

13 office to which analog signals are carried from

14 customer premises, in which such signals are

15 converted to digital, and from which such signals

16 are carried, generally over fiber, to the central

17 office.’’.

18 (c) PRESERVATION OF EXISTING INTERCONNECTION

19 AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in the amendments made by this

20 section—

21 (1) shall be construed to permit or require the

22 abrogation or modification of any interconnection

23 agreement in effect on the date of enactment of this

24 section during the term of such agreement, except that

25 this paragraph shall not apply to any interconnection
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1 agreement beyond the expiration date of the existing

2 current term contained in such agreement on the date

3 of enactment of this section, without regard to any ex4 tension or renewal of such agreement; or

5 (2) affects the implementation of any change of

6 law provision in any such agreement.

7 SEC. 5. INTERNET CONSUMERS FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

8 Part I of title II of the Communications Act of 1934,

9 as amended by section 4, is amended by adding at the end

10 the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 233. INTERNET CONSUMERS FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to en13 sure that Internet users have freedom of choice of Internet

14 service provider.

15 ‘‘(b) OBLIGATIONS OF INCUMBENT LOCAL EXCHANGE

16 CARRIERS.—Each incumbent local exchange carrier has the

17 duty to provide—

18 ‘‘(1) Internet users with the ability to subscribe

19 to and have access to any Internet service provider

20 that interconnects with such carrier’s high speed data

21 service;

22 ‘‘(2) any Internet service provider with the right

23 to acquire the facilities and services necessary to

24 interconnect with such carrier’s high speed data serv25 ice for the provision of Internet access service;
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1 ‘‘(3) any Internet service provider with the abil2 ity to collocate equipment in accordance with the pro3 visions of section 251, to the extent necessary to

4 achieve the objectives of paragraphs (1) and (2) of

5 this subsection; and

6 ‘‘(4) any provider of high speed data services,

7 Internet backbone service, or Internet access service

8 with special access for the provision of Internet access

9 service within a period no longer than the period in

10 which such incumbent local exchange carrier provides

11 special access to itself or any affiliate for the provi12 sion of such service.

13 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

14 ‘‘(1) INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term

15 ‘Internet service provider’ means any provider of

16 Internet access service.

17 ‘‘(2) INCUMBENT LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIER.—

18 The term ‘incumbent local exchange carrier’ has the

19 same meaning as provided in section 251(h).

20 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL ACCESS SERVICE.—The term ‘spe21 cial access service’ means the provision of dedicated

22 transport links between a customer’s premises and the

23 switch or point of presence of a high speed data serv24 ice provider, Internet backbone service provider, or

25 Internet service provider.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. INCIDENTAL INTERLATA PROVISION OF HIGH

2 SPEED DATA AND INTERNET BACKBONE

3 SERVICES.

4 (a) INCIDENTAL INTERLATA SERVICE PERMITTED.—

5 Section 271(g) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

6 U.S.C. 271(g)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (5);

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (6) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

11 new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(7) of high speed data service or Internet back13 bone service, subject to subsection (l).’’.

14 (b) PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF VOICE TELE15 PHONE SERVICES.—Section 271 of such Act is amended by

16 adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(k) PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF VOICE TELE18 PHONE SERVICES.—Until the date on which a Bell oper19 ating company is authorized to offer interLATA services

20 originating in an in-region State in accordance with the

21 provisions of this section, such Bell operating company of22 fering any high speed data service or Internet backbone

23 service pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (7) of sub24 section (g) may not, in such in-region State provide

25 interLATA voice telecommunications service, regardless of

26 whether there is a charge for such service, by means of the
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1 high speed data service or Internet backbone service pro2 vided by such company.’’.

3 (c) APPLICATION PREREQUISITE TO PRO4 VIDING HIGH SPEED DATA SERVICE OR INTERNET

5 BACKBONE SERVICE.—Section 271 of the Com6 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 271), as

7 amended by subsection (b), is amended by

8 adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(l) APPLICATION PREREQUISITE TO PRO10 VIDING HIGH SPEED DATA SERVICE OR INTERNET

11 BACKBONE SERVICE.—

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO FILE APPLICATION

13 WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED

14 STATES.—Neither a Bell operating com15 pany, nor any affiliate of a Bell operating

16 company, may begin providing high

17 speed data service or Internet backbone

18 service in any in-region State under the

19 authority of subsection (g)(7)—

20 ‘‘(A) unless it files with the Attor21 ney General of the United States an

22 application to provide such service;

23 and

24 ‘‘(B) until the Attorney General —
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1 ‘‘(i) approves such application

2 before the expiration of the 90–

3 day period beginning on the date

4 such application is filed; or

5 ‘‘(ii) fails to approve or to dis6 approve such application during

7 such 90–day period.

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GEN9 ERAL.—The Attorney General of the

10 United States—

11 ‘‘(A) may issue rules to establish

12 requirements applicable to the form

13 and contents of applications filed

14 under paragraph (1);

15 ‘‘(B) may make recommendations

16 to an applicant regarding—

17 ‘‘(i) withdrawal of an applica18 tion filed under paragraph (1); or

19 ‘‘(ii) filing of an application

20 under paragraph (1), with or

21 without modifications, subse22 quent to the withdrawal of an ap23 plication filed under such para24 graph; and
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1 ‘‘(C) may not approve an applica2 tion filed in compliance with this sub3 section unless the Attorney General

4 determines that the applicant has

5 demonstrated that it meets the sub6 stantive requirements of subsections

7 (c) and (d) with respect to high speed

8 data service or Internet backbone

9 service in the State for which such

10 application is filed.

11 ‘‘(3) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—An

12 application filed under paragraph (1)

13 may be withdrawn by the applicant at

14 any time before the Attorney General ap15 proves or disapproves such application,

16 but may not be modified after being

17 filed.’’.

18 (c) (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (1) Section 272(a)(2)(B)(i) of such Act is

20 amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(i) incidental interLATA services de22 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6),

23 and (7) of section 271(g);’’.

24 (2) Section 272(a)(2)(C) of such Act is repealed.
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1 (e) CONTINUED FULL APPLICATION OF THE

2 ANTITRUST LAWS TO MATTERS INVOLVED IN THE

3 TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.—Section

4 601(b) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

5 (47 U.S.C. 152 note) is amended by adding at

6 the end the following:

7 ‘‘(4) CONTINUING OPERATION OF THE

8 ANTITRUST LAWS.—The rights, obligations,

9 powers, and remedies provided under the

10 antitrust laws are in addition to, and

11 are—

12 ‘‘(A) not preempted by;

13 ‘‘(B) not inconsistent with; and

14 ‘‘(C) not incompatible with;

15 any of the rights, obligations, powers,

16 and remedies provided under the Com17 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et

18 seq.), under this Act, or under any law

19 amended by either such Act, regardless of

20 the progress of competition in any mar21 ket.’’.

22 SEC. 7. DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICES.

23 Part III of title II of the Communications Act of 1934

24 is amended by inserting after section 276 (47 U.S.C. 276)

25 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 277. DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICES.

2 ‘‘(a) DEPLOYMENT REQUIRED.—Each Bell operating

3 company and its affiliates shall deploy high speed data

4 services in each State in which such company or affiliate

5 is an incumbent local exchange carrier (as such term is de6 fined in section 251(h)) in accordance with the require7 ments of this section.

8 ‘‘(b) DEPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) MILEPOSTS FOR DEPLOYMENT.—A Bell op10 erating company or its affiliate shall deploy high

11 speed data services by attaining high speed data ca12 pability in its central offices in each State to which

13 subsection (a) applies. Such company or affiliate

14 shall attain such capability in accordance with the

15 following schedule:

16 ‘‘(A) Within one year after the date of en17 actment of this section, such company or affiliate

18 shall attain high speed data capability in not

19 less than 20 percent of such central offices in

20 such State.

21 ‘‘(B) Within 2 years after the date of enact22 ment of this section, such company or affiliate

23 shall attain high speed data capability in not

24 less than 40 percent of such central offices in

25 such State.
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1 ‘‘(C) Within 3 years after the date of enact2 ment of this section, such company or affiliate

3 shall attain high speed data capability in not

4 less than 70 percent of such central offices in

5 such State.

6 ‘‘(D) Within 5 years after the date of enact7 ment of this section, such company or affiliate

8 shall attain high speed data capability in not

9 less than 100 percent of such central offices in

10 such State.

11 ‘‘(2) HIGH SPEED DATA CAPABILITY.—For pur12 poses of paragraph (1), a central office shall be con13 sidered to have attained high speed capability if—

14 ‘‘(A)(i) such central office is equipped with

15 high speed data multiplexing capability; and

16 ‘‘(ii) each upgradeable customer loop that

17 originates or terminates in such central office is

18 upgraded promptly upon receipt of a customer

19 request for such upgrading, as necessary to per20 mit transmission of high speed data service (in21 cluding any conditioning of the loop);

22 ‘‘(B) each customer served by such central

23 office (without regard to the upgradeability or

24 length of the customer’s loop) is able to obtain

25 the provision of high speed data service from
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1 such Bell operating company or its affiliate by

2 means of an alternative technology that does not

3 involve the use of the customer’s loop; or

4 ‘‘(C) each such customer is able to obtain

5 the provision of high speed data service by one

6 or the other of the means described in subpara7 graphs (A) and (B).

8 ‘‘(3) UPGRADEABLE LOOPS.—For purposes of

9 paragraph (2), a customer loop is upgradeable if—

10 ‘‘(A) such loop is less than 15,000 feet in

11 length (from the central office to the customer’s

12 premises along the line); and

13 ‘‘(B) such loop can, with or without condi14 tioning, transmit high speed data services with15 out such transmission on such loop causing sig16 nificant degradation of voice service.

17 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) FORFEITURE PENALTIES.—A Bell operating

19 company or its affiliate that fails to comply with this

20 section shall be subject to the penalties provided in

21 section 503(b)(2). In determining whether to impose

22 a forfeiture penalty, and in determining the amount

23 of any forfeiture penalty under section 503(b)(2)(D),

24 the Commission shall take into consideration the ex-
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1 tent to which the requirements of this section are tech2 nically infeasible.

3 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION.—The Commission shall have

4 exclusive jurisdiction to enforce the requirements of

5 this section, except that any State commission may

6 file a complaint with the Commission seeking the im7 position of penalties as provided in paragraph (1).

8 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT ON DEPLOYMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) ANALYSIS REQUIRED.—The Commission

10 shall include in each of its annual reports submitted

11 no more than 18 months after the date of enactment

12 of this section an analysis of the deployment of high

13 speed data service to underserved areas. Such report

14 shall include—

15 ‘‘(A) a statistical analysis of the extent to

16 which high speed data service has been deployed

17 to central offices and customer loops, or is avail18 able using different technologies, as compared

19 with the extent of such deployment and avail20 ability prior to such date and in prior reports

21 under this subsection;

22 ‘‘(B) a breakdown of the delivery of high

23 speed data service by type of technology and

24 class or category of provider;
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1 ‘‘(C) an identification of impediments to

2 such deployment and availability, and develop3 ments in overcoming such impediments during

4 the intervening period between such reports; and

5 ‘‘(D) recommendations of the Commission,

6 after consultation with the National Tele7 communications and Information Administra8 tion, for further extending such deployment and

9 availability and overcoming such impediments.

10 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF UNDERSERVED AREA.—For

11 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘underserved

12 areas’ means areas that—

13 ‘‘(A) are high cost areas that are eligible for

14 services under subpart D of part 54 of the Com15 mission’s regulations (47 C.F.R. 54.301 et seq.);

16 or

17 ‘‘(B) are within or comprised of any census

18 tract—

19 ‘‘(i) the poverty level of which is at

20 least 30 percent (based on the most recent

21 census data); or

22 ‘‘(ii) the median family income of

23 which does not exceed—

24 ‘‘(I) in the case of a census tract

25 located in a metropolitan statistical
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1 area, 70 percent of the greater of the

2 metropolitan area median family in3 come or the statewide median family

4 income; and

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of a census tract

6 located in a nonmetropolitan statis7 tical area, 70 percent of the nonmetro8 politan statewide median family in9 come.

10 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION OF CENSUS TRACTS.—The

11 Commission shall, not later than 90 days after the

12 date of the enactment of this section, designate and

13 publish those census tracts meeting the criteria de14 scribed in paragraph (2)(B).’’.

15 SEC. 8. COMMISSION AUTHORIZED TO PRESCRIBE JUST

16 AND REASONABLE CHARGES.

17 The Federal Communications Commission may im18 pose penalties under section 503 of the Communications Act

19 of 1934 not to exceed $1,000,000 for any violation of provi20 sions contained in, or amended by, section 5, 6, or 7 (or

21 any combination thereof) of this Act. Each distinct viola22 tion shall be a separate offense, and in the case of a con23 tinuing violation, each day shall be deemed a separate of24 fense, except that the amount assessed for any continuing

25 violation shall not exceed a total of $10,000,000 for any
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1 single act or failure to act described in section 5, 6, or 7

2 (or any combination thereof) of this Act.

Union Calendar No. 54

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1542

[Report No. 107–83, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To deregulate the Internet and high speed data

services, and for other purposes.

JUNE 18, 2001

Reported with amendments, adversely, from the Committee on the Judiciary, committed to the Committee

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed