The commerce panel will hold a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the measure and its telecommunications subcommittee is slated to debate the legislation Thursday. We'll start from that platform, but we certainly will work on improvements ourselves and accept other ideas to improve. Tom Bliley, the retired commerce panel chairman, did not allow the bill out of committee last year, and it remains to be seen whether the renewed effort will succeed in the House, let alone the Senate, where there is significant opposition. This can help revive the technology sector from equipment companies to content providers. Fierce Opposition Long-distance carriers oppose the legislation, fearing it would give competitors access to the data markets, but keep local markets bottlenecked as Baby Bells abandon efforts to open their networks to rivals.
Analysts expect seven more bids to be filed by year-end.
Verizon has won approval in New York and Massachusetts, while SBC has Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas under its belt, with one pending bid for Missouri. BellSouth Corp. and Qwest Communications International were expected to file applications soon. Verizon has more than 1 million long-distance customers in New York, and SBC has won more than 2 million lines in Texas in less than a year. Tauzin said he has a commitment from his Senate counterpart, John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to take up the measure. Incorporated All Rights Reserved.