WASHINGTON—Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) is expected today to introduce legislation to foster broadband Internet deployment in rural and unserved areas. On Tuesday, Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Don Nickles (R-Okla.) introduced the Broadband and Regulatory Parity Act, which Hollings said “is no more than a Trojan Horse to deregulate Bells and extend their monopoly.”
In February, the House passed a broadband bill that critics say favors Bell telephone companies. The Bells are banned from providing long-distance services until they open local markets to competition. Opponents of the Tauzin-Dingell and Breaux bills argue the bills would allow Bells to enter long-distance before opening local markets they monopolize. It is unclear how the bills could impact mobile and fixed wireless Internet access.
