These bills strengthen and reaffirm that requirement. The clarification that antitrust laws are not superseded by the 1996 Telecommunications Act and are applicable in the telecom industry also is an important step to prevent harmful legal stalling tactics by the Bells. Additionally, this legislation expands the means of fair arbitration in disputes and provides incentives for broadband rollouts in rural and under-served urban areas, two important goals to ensure consumers reap the full benefits of telecommunications advances. The broadband legislation of both Rep. Cannon and Rep. Conyers keeps the interLATA broadband data market open for competition. The monopoly Bell Companies are in a position to consolidate their power in ways that could strangle competition and innovation, and we believe this is the right legislative approach to take to protect consumers from that threat.
Sprint is a large carrier of Internet traffic and a leader in broadband communications.