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H.R.1685
Internet Growth and Development Act of 1999 (Introduced in the
House)
TITLE IV--BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT
SEC. 401. ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF INTERNET BACKBONE.
(a) INTERLATA INTERNET SERVICES- Paragraph (21) of section 3 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(21)), relating to the definition of
interLATA service, is amended by inserting before the period the following: `,
except that such term shall not include services that consist of or include
the transmission of any data or information, including any writing, signs,
signals, pictures, or sounds related to the transmission of such data or
information, by means of the Internet or any other network that employs
Internet Protocol-based or other packet-switched technology'.
(b) VOICE INTERLATA INTERNET SERVICES- Neither a Bell operating company,
nor any affiliate of a Bell operating company, may provide, by means of the
Internet or any other network that employs Internet Protocol-based or other
packet-switched technology, two-way voice-only interLATA telecommunications
services originating in any of its in-region States until such time as the
Federal Communications Commission approves the application of such company for
such State pursuant to section 271(d) of the Communications Act of 1934. The
terms in this subsection shall have the same respective meanings given such
terms in sections 3 and 271 of such Act.
SEC. 402. ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICES.
Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 is further amended by adding
at the end thereof the following new section:
`SEC. 716. ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICES.
`(a) BROADBAND SERVICES
PLANS-
`(1) PLAN REQUIRED- Within 180 days after the effective date of this
section, each local exchange carrier shall submit to the State commission in
each State in which such carrier does business a plan to provide broadband telecommunications service
in all local exchange areas in which such carrier has telephone exchange
service customers as soon as such broadband telecommunications service
is economically reasonably and technically feasible. The plan shall include
all terms and conditions, including pricing, under which the services shall
be provided. The test of economic reasonability and technical feasibility
shall be made separately by the local exchange carrier for each local
exchange, and the plan shall be considered certified 45 days after
submission unless the State commission rejects the plan within such 45 days.
Upon rejection of a plan, successive plans shall be submitted until approval
is obtained. The plan shall be implemented within 180 days of the
certification of the plan in each local exchange in which the provision of
the service is both economically reasonable and technically feasible. Upon
certification of its plan, the carrier shall be obligated by terms of the
plan (including any modifications that it requests that are thereafter
certified) but shall otherwise provide such services free of Federal and
State price, rate, rate of return, and profit regulation. Upon a
determination by the State commission that a local exchange is served by
another provider of broadband
telecommunications services, or any broadband Internet access transport
provider, or upon a determination by such State commission that the local
exchange carrier makes broadband telecommunications
services available to 70 percent of the access lines in an exchange, a local
exchange carrier shall no longer be obligated by the terms of any such plan
in such local exchange.
`(2) STATE MODIFICATIONS PROHIBITED- Except upon request of the carrier,
the State commission shall have no authority to modify any plan submitted
pursuant to paragraph (1).
`(3) NO COMMISSION AUTHORITY- The Commission shall have no authority
with respect to the terms of any plan and shall have no authority with
respect to the approval or rejection of any such plan.
`(b) SUPERSESSION OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- An incumbent local exchange
carrier's provision of broadband
local telecommunications services shall not be subject to the requirements of
sections 251(c)(3) and 251(c)(4) of the Act in any State in which that carrier
certifies to the State commission that--
`(1) in central offices in which it provides local loops that are
conditioned for broadband
services, it provides such loops to other carriers at least as quickly as it
provides them for its own customers;
`(2) in central offices in which it does not currently provide local
loops that are conditioned for broadband services, but in which
such service is economically reasonable and technically feasible, it will
provide such loops within 120 days of a request for such conditioning from
another carrier; and
`(3) conditioned loops are provided upon such prices and other terms and
conditions as the parties shall agree, or in any event of disagreements, as
are determined through commercial arbitration, in which the commercial
arbitrator shall establish the price based upon the cost of the loops and
the costs for
such conditioning that have been incurred by the local exchange carrier plus
a reasonable profit.'.
TITLE V--ANTITRUST AND CRIMINAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. PROHIBITION ON ANTICOMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR BY INCUMBENT LOCAL
EXCHANGE CARRIERS.
In any civil action based on a claim arising under section 1, 2, or 3 of
the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3), evidence that an incumbent local exchange
carrier that has market power in the broadband service provider market has
willfully and knowingly failed to provide conditioned unbundled local loops
when economically reasonable and technically feasible under section 716(a) of
the Communications Act of 1934, or restrains unreasonably the ability of a
carrier to compete in its provision of broadband services over a local loop,
shall be sufficient to establish a presumption of a violation of such section
1, 2, or 3 of the Sherman Act.
SEC. 502. PROHIBITION ON ANTICOMPETITIVE CONTRACTS BY BROADBAND ACCESS TRANSPORT
PROVIDERS.
In any civil action based on a claim arising under section 1, 2, or 3 of
the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3), evidence that a broadband access transport provider
that has market power in the broadband service provider market has
offered access to a service provider on terms and conditions, other than terms
justified by demonstrable cost differentials, that are less favorable than
those offered by such operator to itself, to an affiliated service provider,
or to another service provider, or restrains unreasonably the ability of a
service provider from competing in its provision of broadband services, shall be
sufficient to establish a presumption of a violation of such section.
SEC. 503. PROHIBITION ON ANTICOMPETITIVE OR DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOR BY BROADBAND ACCESS TRANSPORT
PROVIDERS.
It shall be unlawful for a broadband access transport provider to
engage in unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or
practices, the purpose or effect of which is to discriminate in favor of a
service provider that is affiliated with a broadband access transport provider or
to restrain unreasonably the ability of a service provider that is not
affiliated with a broadband
access transport provider from competing in its provision of any of the
services provided by a service provider as set forth in section 505(3).
SEC. 504. PROTECTION FROM FRAUDULENT UNSOLICITED E-MAIL.
Section 1030 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(5)--
(A) by striking `or' at the end of subparagraph (B); and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new
subparagraphs:
`(D) intentionally and without authorization initiates the transmission
of a bulk unsolicited electronic mail message to a protected computer with
knowledge that such message falsifies an Internet domain, header
information, date or time stamp, originating e-mail address or other
identifier; or
`(E) intentionally sells or distributes any computer program
that--
`(i) is designed or produced primarily for the purpose of concealing
the source or routing information of bulk unsolicited electronic mail
messages in a manner prohibited by subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph;
`(ii) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other
than to conceal such source or routing information; or
`(iii) is marketed by the violator or another person acting in concert
with the violator and with the violator's knowledge for use in concealing
the source or routing information of such messages;';
(2) in subsection (c)(2)(A)--
(A) by inserting `(i)' after `in the case of an offense'; and
(B) by inserting after `an offense punishable under this
subparagraph;' the following: `; or (ii) under subsection (a)(5)(D) or
(a)(5)(E) of this section which results in damage to a protected
computer';
(3) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
`(D) in the case of a violation of subsection (a)(5)(D) or (E), actual
monetary loss and statutory damages of $15,000 per violation or an amount of
up to $10 per message per violation whichever is greater; and';
(A) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (8);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (9); and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
`(10) the term `initiates the transmission' means, in the case of an
electronic mail message, to originate the electronic mail message, and
excludes the actions of any interactive computer service whose facilities or
services are used by another person to transmit, relay, or otherwise handle
such message;
`(11) the term `Internet domain' means a specific computer system
(commonly referred to as a `host') or collection of computer systems
attached to or able to be referenced from the Internet which are assigned a
specific reference point on the Internet (commonly referred to as an
`Internet domain name') and registered with an organization recognized by
the Internet industry as a registrant of Internet domains;
`(12) the term `unsolicited electronic mail message' means any
substantially identical electronic mail message other than electronic mail
initiated by any purpose to others with whom such person has a prior
relationship, including prior business relationship, or electronic mail sent
by a source to recipients where such recipients, or their designees, have at
any time affirmatively requested to receive communications from that source;
and
`(13) the term `Internet' means all computer and telecommunications
facilities, including equipment and operating software, which comprise the
interconnected network of networks that employ the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocols to
such protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or
radio.'.
(5) in subsection (g), by inserting `and reasonable attorneys' fees and
other litigation costs reasonably incurred in connection with civil action'
after `injunctive relief or other equitable relief'.
SEC. 505. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) BROADBAND - The term
`broadband' refers to a
transmission capability in excess of 200 kilobits per second in at least one
direction.
(2) BROADBAND ACCESS
TRANSPORT PROVIDER- The term `broadband access transport provider'
means one who engages in the broadband transmission of data
between a user and his service provider's point of interconnection with the
broadband access transport
provider's facilities. Such term shall also include a service provider who
provides to itself, over facilities owned by it or under its control, the
broadband transport of
services between itself and its users.
(3) SERVICE PROVIDER- The term `service provider' means a person who
provides a service that enables users to access content, information,
electronic mail, or other services. The term may also include access to
proprietary content, information, and other services as part of a package of
services offered to consumers.
(4) INTERNET- The term `Internet' means all computer and
telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating software,
which comprise the interconnected network of networks that employ the
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or
successor protocols to such protocol, to communicate information of all
kinds by wire or radio.
(5) BROADBAND SERVICE
PROVIDER MARKET- The term `broadband service provider market'
includes the provision of broadband services over a single
broadband access transport
provider's facilities.
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