At the core of the battle is competing legislation that in many ways will determine how the competing telecom companies will deliver high-speed Internet connection in coming years. On one side are the nation's Bell companies. They want Congress to free them from restrictions on carrying Internet traffic. They say this will make it possible for them to deliver high-speed Web connections to more Americans, particularly those in smaller communities. It's a landgrab for a still emerging market, one expected to be financially lucrative.
Companies typically offer such services only in high-density and metropolitan areas.
The battle has heated up since a House Commerce telecommunications subcommittee recently approved a measure making it easier for the Bells to offer high-speed Internet service within their markets. The bill was sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., and the ranking Democrat, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan. But Thursday, the Bells' rivals and consumer groups got good news from legislation introduced by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the House Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat. The Conyers bill also would require the Bells to abide by provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which forced them to make their networks available to rivals. The Tauzin-Dingell legislation would free the Bells to carry Internet traffic within their regions even before showing that their local markets are open to competition.