This bad bill has now passed the Indiana Senate and has moved to the House for Debate. SB 426 is little more than a dusted off and polished version of last year's bill with additional smoke and mirrors. Eliminate consumer protections by allowing self-deregulation of existing monopolies without regulatory approval.
Consumers lose all clout and the two phone companies remain monopolies.
No wonder virtually no telephone company has even been in for a rate review in over ten years. CAC legal experts believe this to be patently unconstitutional - but the Senate approved it anyway. Congress mandated competition for local telephone service when it passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The process has been slowed down, however, by the state's refusal to put in place the necessary staff and resources to implement the transition to competition and by incessant litigation by the telephone titans jockeying for commercial advantage. Now these titans have turned to the legislature to circumvent the implementation of a fair and even playing field for competition that benefits consumers.