[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2637 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2637

    To protect consumer and community choice in access to Internet 
                   providers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 1999

 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself and Mr. DeFazio) introduced the following 
         bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To protect consumer and community choice in access to Internet 
                   providers, 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 ``Consumer and Community Choice in 
Access Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) As cable, telecommunications and Internet lines of 
        business merge, cable operators are upgrading their cable 
        systems to offer 2-way communications on their cable networks, 
        including high-speed broadband access to the Internet.
            (2) Upgraded cable systems are now offering Internet access 
        up to 1,000 times faster than traditional phone lines, and up 
        to 100 times faster than integrated services digital network 
        (``ISDN'') lines.
            (3) Some cable operators are requiring their customers to 
        obtain broadband access only through their affiliated Internet 
        service provider (``ISP'').
            (4) Citizens who need or desire Internet access through the 
        significantly faster cable network, but who choose not to use 
        the cable operators' affiliated ISP must pay twice (once to the 
        cable operator's ISP, once to their own ISP), in order to 
        access the ISP of their choice.
            (5) Some in the cable industry, utilizing both their 
        affiliated ISP and considerable market power, will not allow 
        open and direct access to unaffiliated ISPs and their customers 
        via the broadband cable platform.
            (6) The initial design of broadband cable modem Internet 
        access has also created technological barriers to open access 
        that need to be addressed.
            (7) In their federally recognized roles as local cable 
        franchising authorities, local communities across the country 
        are now confronted with the question of whether to allow their 
        cable operators to restrict unaffiliated ISP from gaining 
        direct, open access to their customers on the regulated cable 
        network. In Oregon, the city of Portland and Multnomah County 
        have already faced this situation, and decided that the public 
        interest requires open access. This decision has been upheld by 
        a Federal court.
            (8) However, some have expressed concern that allowing 
        localities the ability to promote competition by requiring open 
        access will delay the deployment of cable broadband Internet 
        access services.
            (9) Local jurisdictions that choose to impose a 
        procompetitive open access requirement serve the important 
        public purpose of serving as ``laboratories'' for field trials 
        to develop true competition on the cable Internet gateway.
            (10) Clearly, the possible development of a monopoly 
        bottleneck to high-speed Internet access is a critical public 
        policy issue that Congress, the Federal Communications 
        Commission, and local franchising authorities need to address.

SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERCONNECTION TO THE 
              INTERNET.

    (a) Reallocation of Authority.--Section 624 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 544) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``or other 
        information services''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(j) Internet Access.--The Commission may require cable operators 
that provide interconnection, using cable system facilities, with the 
Internet to offer such interconnection on terms and conditions that are 
fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory. Such requirements shall 
include the obligation to provide direct or indirect interconnection 
with the facilities and equipment of any Internet service provider on 
terms and conditions that are functionally and economically equivalent 
to the interconnection provided to any other Internet service provider, 
whether or not affiliated with the cable operator. If the Commission 
determines, after notice and comment, that a cable operator is not 
complying with such obligation, the Commission may establish the terms 
and conditions of such interconnection.''.

SEC. 4. LEASED ACCESS AMENDMENT.

    Section 612 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 532) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(5), by inserting ``or other cable 
        service'' after ``provision of video programming'';
            (2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ``or other cable 
        service'' after ``over any video programming''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(k) Treatment of High-Speed Data Services.--Until the Commission 
establishes open access or interconnection standards and obligations 
under section 624(j), a service that provides high-speed data service 
(as such term is defined in regulations of the Commission) and that 
seeks to obtain channel capacity under this section may, 
notwithstanding subsection (b)(5), be treated as seeking channel 
capacity for a commercial use.''.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF LIMITATION ON COMMON CARRIER REGULATION.

    Section 621(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 541(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``A 
telecommunications service that is provided by a cable system is 
subject to regulation as a common carrier service.''.

SEC. 6. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) restricts or limits the authority of a State or 
        franchising authority; or
            (2) shall be construed to affect any civil action that is 
        pending in any Federal or State court on the date of enactment 
        of this Act.
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