[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 53 (Thursday, May 2, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3871-S3872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HOLLINGS (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Stevens, Mr. 
        Inouye, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Dorgan):
  S. 2448. A bill to improve nationwide access to broadband services; 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Broadband 
Telecommunications Act of 2002. This legislation is designed to promote 
the deployment of broadband technology in rural and under-served areas 
of the market.
  The Internet has unquestionably revolutionized our society, making it 
possible to transmit data and engage in commerce in a manner not 
previously experienced. However, notwithstanding its enormous benefits, 
the Internet is still in its building stage, with its greatest capacity 
yet to be reached. An important element in enhancing the Internet's 
capability is the technology known as ``broadband.'' This refers to the 
technologies and facilities that enhance the speed and efficiency by 
which voice, video, data communications are transmitted.
  Many, in fact, believe that broadband is the key to securing the 
Internet as the central medium of interstate and global commerce. Once 
extensively and fully deployed and accepted by consumers and the 
marketplace, broadband will undoubtedly produce marvelous advantages: 
permitting physicians to consult with each other and share information 
instantaneously, thus enriching the learning process; allowing 
consumers to access entertainment including music and movies, as well 
as other products at any given time; and offering workers greater 
options, as it will facilitate the ability of workers to access from 
home, electronic files as well as communicate with coworkers by voice 
and video.
  Before this great vision can be realized, however, several key issues 
will have to be addressed. These include ensuring that broadband is 
deployed to all Americans and promoting consumer confidence in the 
Internet, while simultaneously preserving competition in the 
telecommunications and Internet markets.
  With respect to broadband deployment, telephone and cable companies 
have been upgrading their networks, in order to provide broadband 
service. As it stands today, broadband availability for residential 
Internet users is approximately 85 percent. However, even though this 
number is admirable, there are still specific areas where broadband 
capability has yet to take hold. This predicament mostly involves 
rural, as well as some inner city areas. Ensuring the availability of 
broadband in these markets is the public policy challenge we face 
today. Clearly, Congress' main responsibility is ensuring that the 
right policy is pursued and implemented to accomplish this goal.
  Reports indicate that small telephone companies, have been diligently 
rolling out broadband service in rural areas. Nevertheless, to achieve 
the goal of broadband deployment in all rural and underserved areas, 
the government will need to provide some assistance. In recognition of 
this need, Senators Rockefeller and Dorgan both members of the 
Commerce Committee, have sponsored bills to support such deployments 
with options such as low interest loans and tax credits.

  The approach taken by Senators Rockefeller and Dorgan represent a 
constructive approach to achieving greater broadband deployment. 
Financial assistance, through measures such as loans, grants, and tax 
incentives, is necessary to help defray the cost of these additional 
deployments. By providing loans and grants, the bill I introduce today 
takes a similar approach to achieving broadband deployment.
  In addition to deployment of broadband facilities, there also is an 
issue concerning broadband speeds. Currently, the broadband facilities 
that are being deployed to residential consumers provide speeds of up 
to 1.5 megabits per second. However, groups such as TechNet, maintain 
that in order to realize the real potential of broadband--telemedicine, 
distance learning, teleworking, and entertainment over the Internet, 
telecommunications facilities must be able to provide speeds of 50 to 
100 megabits. If this is correct, as policy makers we must, at a 
minimum, determine what is necessary both technologically and 
financially to accomplish this goal. Such findings will provide the 
basis to determine the policies Congress will be compelled to pursue if 
a determination is made that speeds of 50 to 100 megabits per second 
are necessary.
  Even as we discuss broadband speeds of 50-100 megabits, we must 
acknowledge that consumers do not seem seduced by the available 
broadband speeds of 1.5 megabits. In fact, reports show, that about 10 
percent actually subscribe to broadband, leading many to believe that 
low demand is the problem, not slow deployment. If achieving a 
broadband environment is a priority, in addition to spurring 
deployment, we must eliminate the impediments that block consumers from 
obtaining the content, services, and applications necessary to make 
broadband service a useful and productive tool.
  Another essential issue concerning the promotion of broadband 
involves the issue of privacy. Consumers use of the Internet is a 
fundamental first step to promoting interest in broadband. This will 
not be possible, however, unless consumers are confident that their 
privacy and personal information are protected and secured. To 
accomplish this goal, sufficient precautions will have to be taken to 
ensure that highly sensitive personal data--including financial, 
medical, social security numbers--cannot be stolen or misused. The 
Commerce Committee has established a substantial record on the issue of 
Internet privacy. That record demonstrates that consumers will use the 
Internet for more personal purposes only when they are confident that 
their information is secure. I have introduced separate legislation on 
this matter.
  The broadband bill entitled the Broadband Telecommunications Act of

[[Page S3872]]

2002, that I introduce today represents a step towards fostering the 
deployment and adoption of broadband services. It uses monies from the 
telephone excise tax to fund a number of loan and grant programs. It 
stimulates broadband deployment in rural and underserved areas by 
providing low interest loans to upgrade facilities including remote 
terminals and fiber between a remote terminal and central office. It 
authorizes NIST to study how we can facilitate broadband deployment in 
rural and under-served areas. It promotes competition by establishing 
pilot projects for wireless and other non-wireline broadband 
technologies in rural and underserved areas. The bill begins to help us 
understand what is necessary to accomplish broadband with speeds of 50 
to 100 megabits per second by providing grants to NTIA's Lab, NIST 
Labs, National Science Board and to universities for research. In order 
to address the demand issue, we provide grants to digitize library and 
museum collections as well as grants to Universities to conduct 
technical research to develop Internet applications useful to 
consumers. The bill also provides grants to connect under-represented 
colleges and communities to the Internet.

  Ultimately, if we decide as a nation that a broadband world must be 
achieved, we must move beyond the rhetoric of parity and regulation 
versus deregulation. We must move forward and begin to deal with the 
real issues that impact broadband deployment and use. These include 
stimulating deployment in unserved and under-served areas, promoting 
competition to existing monopolies, ensuring the availability of 
content and other Internet applications, preserving the privacy of 
consumers as they use the Internet, safeguarding cyber security, in 
addition to advancing policies such as e-government, teleworking, 
telemedicine, and distance learning. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
an open and forthright debate on these issues.
                                 ______