Transcript The Internet

Telecommunications Reform:
The Regulation of the Internet
Wendy Wigen
Garret Sern
EDUCAUSE Federal Policy Office
ICPL
June 28, 2005
Why do we need Telecommunications Reform?
What is being proposed?
What does the higher education community
support?
The Communications Act of 1934
Purpose:
…to make available… to all the people of the
United States… a rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and
world-wide wire and radio communication service
with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.
Communications as we knew it…
LAW
Title II
Title III
Title III
Title VI
VOICE
VOICE
AUDIO/
VIDEO
VIDEO
WIRED
WIRELESS
BROADCAST
TV/RADIO
CABLE TV
Communications + the Internet…
LAW
Title II
VOICE
WIRED
+
Dial-up
+
DSL
Title III
VOICE
WIRELESS
+
Internet
Access
Title III
Title VI
AUDIO/
VIDEO
VIDEO
BROADCAST
TV/RADIO
CABLE TV
+
Cable
Modem
Internet Regulation
Chapter 1
Telecommunications
Service: (phone to phone)
Provides basic voice
service for a fee
Highly regulated
• Behavior (anti-trust,
consumer protection…)
• Revenue (USF, 911…)
Information Service:
(computer to computer)
Provides enhanced
communication service
that involves data
storage/processing i.e.
Internet access, voice
mail….
Unregulated
The Internet….
We could have killed it but we wisely chose not to….
FCC 1999
We haven’t regulated it because we didn’t know how
to… Senator Cantwell 2004
First, do no harm… Michael Powell, former Chairman of the
FCC
But then…
Voice over IP,
and Video over IP
became commercially viable services
Chapter 2: VoIP
to regulate or not to regulate?
Computer to Computer: all Internet
Computer to Phone or Phone to Computer
Phone to Internet to Phone
Telecom or Info. Service?
Computer to Computer: all Internet
Pulver Decision
Information Service – no regulation
Computer to Phone or Phone to Computer
Phone to Internet to Phone
AT&T Decision
Telecommunications Service – full regulation
What is it ?
“VoIP breaks the mold. It is voice as a data
service. Considered another way, the 1996
(Telecommunications) Act assumes that data
applications operate on top of a regulated voice
network. VoIP, by contrast, delivers voice on top of
an Internet protocol data channel, which can run
on any type of digital network.”
….Kevin Werbach
If in doubt, don’t regulate….
What if a lot of people switch to
VoIP?
What happens to:
1. Law Enforcement Access (CALEA)
2. Emergency 911 Service (Public Safety)
3. Access for the disabled (Disabilities Act)
4. Support for the Universal Service Fund
5. State revenue…. 15%
What if a lot of people switch to
Video over IP?
What happens to public service requirements?
What about franchising rules: $$$ and control
Unfair Competition
VOICE
VOICE
WIRED
+
DSL
WIRELESS
+
Internet
Access
Video
Over
IP
Video
Over
IP
VIDEO
AUDIO/
VIDEO
BROADCAST
TV/RADIO
CABLE TV
+
Cable
Modem
VoIP
Where communications are going…
voice
wired
data
video
wireless
local long distance international
Packet-based
Ubiquitous
Connection
Convergence and Competition
1. Deregulate and let the market sort it
out…. Use anti-trust law to deal with unfair
competition. (mature industry i.e. railroads,
airlines)
2. Status quo: The law is sufficient as is, it just
needs to be enforced and clarified.
3. Write a new law based on how IP systems
work.
The “layered model”
Content:
text, speech, music, video, etc
phone
cellular
Applications:
web browsers, email client etc.
Logical:
TCP/IP protocol suite
cable
satellite
Physical:
access and transport
modem, DSL, cable, fiber, WiFi, etc.
The “layered model”
Content:
text, speech, music, video, etc
Unregulated
Applications:
web browsers, email client etc.
Logical:
TCP/IP protocol suite
Minimal regulation
Physical:
access and transport
modem, DSL, cable, fiber, WiFi, etc.
What is the higher education
community doing?
What is Congress doing?
What is Congress doing?
13 Telecom Related Bills Introduced in the
109Th Congress To Date; 8 Broadband Focused
Variety of approaches:
Gov’t grants;
tax breaks for providers and
NSF dedicated research on facilitating broadband
services to rural and remote areas;
Prohibiting vs. Promoting Community Networks
Battle over Muni-Networks
No State or local statute or regulation, or
other State or local legal requirement, may
prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the
ability of any entity to provide any
interstate or intrastate telecommunications
service.
• Section 253 Communications Act of 1934
Nixon v Missouri Municipal League
Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act of 2005
(H.R.2726)- Sessions
Community Broadband Act of 2005 (S.1294)Lautenberg/McCain
11 Battleground States - 7 “Wins”
The Internet: Chapter 3
The Internet remains an open and innovative
network
Broadband connectivity is available and
affordable to as many persons in this country
who want it
Broadband offers speeds that allow, not just
advanced entertainment, but advanced:
Education
Medical services
Government Services
The United States not only continues to
compete but to lead in information
technology.
Federal Policy and the Internet
“The apparently effortless technological supremacy
Americans assume as a birthright…had nothing
to do with market forces and everything to do with
targeted policy decisions.”
-Clyde Prestowitz, “Why Asia will eat
our Lunch”
More Information
EDUCAUSE Policy Website
http://www.educause.edu/policy
[email protected]
[email protected]