[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 710 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 710

To promote interoperability in the evolving information infrastructure 
ensuring maximum competition, innovation, and consumer choice, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                April 6 (legislative day, April 5), 1995

  Mr. Kerrey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote interoperability in the evolving information infrastructure 
ensuring maximum competition, innovation, and consumer choice, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Communications Interoperability Act 
of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the rapid convergence of communications, computing and 
        video technologies holds the promise of bringing revolutionary 
        improvements in the delivery of a variety of information and 
        other communications services to the American public;
            (2) interoperability will promote competition among 
        technologies, providers, and media, leading to the greatest 
        choices, lowest prices, highest value, and maximum innovation;
            (3) interoperability at key interfaces of the developing 
        information infrastructure of the United States will ensure 
        that existing and new components work together easily, quickly, 
        and transparently as the components of today's telephone 
        system;
            (4) interoperability will help ensure that the information 
        and communications infrastructure of the future will be 
        accessible to the broadest number of people, both users and 
        vendors of products and services;
            (5) open interfaces at critical connection points are 
        essential to achieving interoperability and the smooth transfer 
        of information throughout the system; and
            (6) the development of an interoperable information 
        infrastructure based on open interfaces is in the interest of 
        all Americans, and the Federal Government should act as a 
        facilitator to achieve this goal.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Interoperability.--The term ``interoperability'' 
        means--
                    (A) the ability of two or more systems (such as 
                devices, databases, networks, or technologies) to 
                interact in concert with one another, in accordance 
                with a prescribed method, to achieve a predictable 
                result;
                    (B) the ability of diverse systems made by 
                different vendors to communicate with each other so 
                that users do not have to make major adjustments to 
                account for differences in products or services; and
                    (C) compatibility among systems at specified levels 
                of interaction, including physical compatibility.
        The compatibility described in subparagraph (C) should be 
        achieved through open interface specifications.
            (2) Interface specifications.--The term ``interface 
        specifications'' means the technical parameters for the manner 
        in which systems, products, and services communicate with each 
        other and may be limited to that information necessary to 
        achieve interoperability, leaving the implementation and 
        remaining product design to the creative abilities of 
        competitive suppliers.

SEC. 4. PROMOTING INTEROPERABILITY.

    The Federal Communications Commission, and other appropriate 
Federal Government agencies (such as the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology), shall monitor the voluntary industry 
standards processes, and assist private sector standards bodies in the 
identification and promotion of open and interoperable interface 
specifications as needed.
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