[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1349 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1349

    To promote deployment of competitive video services, eliminate 
 redundant and unnecessary regulation, and further the development of 
                  next generation broadband networks.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 2005

 Mr. Smith (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To promote deployment of competitive video services, eliminate 
 redundant and unnecessary regulation, and further the development of 
                  next generation broadband networks.

    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 ``Video Choice Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Cable rates continue to rise substantially faster than 
        the overall rate of inflation.
            (2) Wire-based competition in video services is limited to 
        very few markets. According to the Federal Communications 
        Commission, only 2 percent of all cable subscribers have the 
        opportunity to choose between 2 or more wire-based video 
        service providers.
            (3) It is only through wire-based video competition that 
        price competition exists. The Government Accountability Office 
        has confirmed that where wire-based competition exists, cable 
        rates are 15 percent lower than in markets without competition.
            (4) It is in the public interest to further wire-based 
        competition in the video services market in order to provide 
        greater consumer choice and lower prices for video services.
            (5) To spur competition in the communications industry, 
        Congress has decreased the regulatory burden on new entrants, 
        thereby increasing entry into the market and creating 
        competition.
            (6) The United States continues to fall behind in broadband 
        deployment rates. According to a recent study by the 
        International Telecommunications Union, the United States is 
        now ranked 16th in the world in broadband deployment.
            (7) The deployment of advanced high capacity networks would 
        greatly spur economic development in rural America.
            (8) The deployment of advanced networks that can offer 
        substantially higher capacity are critical to the long-term 
        competitiveness of the United States.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT.

    Title VI of the Communication Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 521 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

                        ``PART VI--VIDEO CHOICE

``SEC. 661. DEFINITION.

    ``In this part, the term `competitive video services provider' 
means any provider of video programming, interactive on-demand 
services, other programming services, or any other video services who 
has any right, permission, or authority to access public rights-of-way 
independent of any cable franchise obtained pursuant to section 621 or 
pursuant to any other Federal, State, or local law.

``SEC. 662. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.

    ``(a) Redundant Franchises Prohibited.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act, no competitive video services provider may be 
required, whether pursuant to section 621 or to any other provision of 
Federal, State, or local law, to obtain a franchise in order to provide 
any video programming, interactive on-demand services, other 
programming services, or any other video services in any area where 
such provider has any right, permission, or authority to access public 
rights-of-way independent of any cable franchise obtained pursuant to 
section 621 or pursuant to any other Federal, State, or local law.
    ``(b) Fees.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any competitive video services provider 
        who provides a service that otherwise would qualify as a cable 
        service provided over a cable system shall be subject to the 
        payment of fees to a local franchise authority based on the 
        gross revenues of such provider that are attributable to the 
        provision of such service within such provider's service area.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In determining the fees required by 
        this subsection--
                    ``(A)(i) the rate at which fees are imposed shall 
                not exceed the rate at which franchise fees are imposed 
                on any cable operator providing cable service in the 
                franchise area, as determined in accordance with 
                section 622 and any related regulations; or
                    ``(ii) in any jurisdiction in which no cable 
                operator provides service, the rate at which franchise 
                fees are imposed shall not exceed the statewide 
                average; and
                    ``(B) the only revenues that shall be considered 
                are those attributable to services that would be 
                considered in calculating franchise fees if such 
                provider were deemed a cable operator for purposes of 
                section 622 and any related regulations.
            ``(3) Billing.--A competitive video services provider shall 
        designate that portion of the bill of a subscriber attributable 
        to the fee under paragraph (2) as a separate item on the bill.
    ``(c) Terms of Service.--A competitive video services provider 
shall--
            ``(1) be subject to the retransmission consent provisions 
        of section 325(b);
            ``(2)(A) carry, within each local franchise area, any 
        public, educational, or governmental use channels that are 
        carried by cable operators within such franchise area pursuant 
        to section 611; or
            ``(B) provide, in any jurisdiction in which no cable 
        operator provides service, reasonable public, educational and 
        government access facilities pursuant to section 611;
            ``(3) be subject to the must-carry provisions of section 
        614;
            ``(4) carry noncommercial, educational channels as required 
        by section 615;
            ``(5) be considered a multichannel video programming 
        distributor for purposes of section 628 and be entitled to the 
        benefits and protection of that section;
            ``(6) protect the personally identifiable information of 
        its subscribers as required in section 631;
            ``(7) comply with any consumer protection and customer 
        service requirements promulgated by the Commission pursuant to 
        section 632;
            ``(8) not be subject to any other provisions of this title; 
        and
            ``(9) not deny services to any group of potential 
        residential subscribers because of the income of the residents 
        of the local area in which such group resides.
    ``(d) Regulatory Treatment.--Except to the extent expressly 
provided in this part, neither the Commission nor any State or 
political subdivision thereof may regulate the rates, charges, terms, 
conditions for, entry into, exit from, deployment of, provision of, or 
any other aspect of the services provided by a competitive video 
services provider.
    ``(e) State and Local Government Authority.--Except as provided in 
subsection (a), nothing in this section affects the authority of a 
State or local government to manage the public rights-of-way or to 
enact or enforce any consumer protection law.''.

SEC. 4. REGULATION OF COMMON CARRIERS.

    Section 651(a)(3) of the Federal Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 
571(a)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) if such carrier is a competitive video 
                services provider providing video programming pursuant 
                to part VI of this title, such carrier shall not be 
                subject to the requirements of this title but instead 
                shall be subject only to the provisions of part VI of 
                this title.''.

SEC. 5. EXISTING FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS.

    Any franchise agreement entered into by a franchising authority and 
a competitive video service provider for the provision of video service 
prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be exempt from the 
provisions of this Act for the term of such agreement.
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