Proposal would boost offerings of small telecom businesses

WASHINGTON – The 23 small independent telephone companies serving 135,000 customers in Maine may find it easier to get involved in paging, Internet and other enhanced telecommunications services under legislation drafted by a senior Republican.

The Independent Telecommunications Consumer Enhancement Act would help small and midsized companies, known as 2 percent carriers. Those covered by the legislation serve fewer than 2 percent of the nation’s telephone users.

Focused on rural markets, such as those in Maine and Wyoming, the home state of Rep. Barbara Cubin the Republican who drafted the legislation, the bill would spur competition by loosening regulations designed generally to keep major providers, like Verizon, in check.

Cubin, a member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, said her bill reflects the need to address overregulation by the federal government and rural telecommunications troubles.

“If we stick with ‘one-size-fits-all’ regulations, we will keep these companies from providing what rural areas of the country require for the future: a fair share of the new economy,” Cubin said. “In addition to supporting existing companies, I believe this legislation will play a role in attracting new businesses to the state by bolstering improved telecommunications services.”

The FCC would be prevented from requiring that a 2 percent carrier establish a separate affiliate to provide any services, including local and interexchange services, commercial mobile radio services, advanced services, paging, Internet, information services or other enhanced services.

The bill drew quick support from Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, R-La., the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the former chairman of its telecom subcommittee. Tauzin said the measure expresses “regulatory common sense for small and midsize telecommunications companies. These companies are incredibly important in rural areas because they serve customers’ telecommunications needs in high-cost areas of the country where others fear to tread.”

“My bill won’t prevent the FCC from doing its job, but will ensure that smaller companies are treated differently,” said Cubin, who has already drawn four co-sponsors for the measure.

Cubin’s legislation contends the smaller carriers are “uniquely positioned to accelerate the deployment of advanced services and competitive initiatives for the benefit of consumers in less densely populated regions of the nation.”

The legislation will reduce the regulatory burdens on smaller carriers to allow them to devote more resources to deploying advanced services and to take competitive steps.

The bill would require the FCC to take into account the differences in rules that apply to local exchange carriers, potentially eliminating burdensome paperwork.

For example, the instructions for completing two FCC reports run more than 900 pages, a paperwork burden for smaller firms that don’t have the manpower to devote to government red-tape designed by the agency to protect consumers from monolithic giants.

“I would rather see small and midsize telecommunications companies dedicate their resources to deploying new services and investing in their infrastructure,” Cubin said.

Tauzin said the bill is consistent with the Energy and Commerce Committee’s goal of restructuring the way in which the FCC does its job.

“Establishing a common-sense regulatory approach is necessary and I congratulate Rep. Cubin for her commitment to making that happen,” Tauzin said.