Bill Summary & Status for the 106th Congress

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S.2902
Sponsor: Sen Brownback, Sam(introduced 7/20/2000)
Latest Major Action: 7/26/2000 Senate committee/subcommittee actions: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Hearings held.
Title: A bill to revise the definition of advanced service, and for other purposes.
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TITLE(S):  (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill)
STATUS: (color indicates Senate actions)
7/20/2000:
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
7/26/2000:
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Hearings held.

COMMITTEE(S):
RELATED BILL DETAILS:

***NONE***


AMENDMENT(S):

***NONE***


COSPONSOR(S):

***NONE***


SUMMARY AS OF:
7/20/2000--Introduced.

Broadband Internet Regulatory Relief Act of 2000 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that an incumbent local exchange carrier (carrier) shall not be subject to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations with respect to: (1) the duty to provide to other requesting carriers interconnection with or notice of changes regarding any packet-based functionality of the carrier's network; (2) any network element that consists of or is created by a packet-switched or successor technology; (3) the provision of advanced service; (4) any premises or structure used solely for packet-switched or successor network elements; or (5) any optical fiber in the carrier's distribution network that is used exclusively to provide telecommunications services to residential subscribers that is or was either deployed: (i) where previously no outside telephone distribution plant existed; (ii) as a replacement for such a plant; or (iii) from a remote terminal to a customer premises (with an added requirement that such facilities be capable of providing certain services through the upgrade of electronics).

Requires such carrier to make advanced service available: (1) to 80 percent of its customers in a State within three years after enactment of this Act, where such services can be provided using an industry-approved standard and existing loop facilities; and (2) within five years of such date, upon request of any customer. Allows carriers that meet such time limits to continue to receive the regulatory relief provided under this Act, while discontinuing such relief for failure to do so.

Prohibits advanced service offered by such carriers from being subject to common carrier regulation by the FCC or a State in any exchange where advanced service is being provided by an unaffiliated advanced service provider. Allows for a petition to the FCC for such regulatory relief. Prohibits Federal or State regulation in any geographic area in which the carrier was not the local incumbent exchange carrier on February 8, 1996. States that, for services not found to be subject to unaffiliated competition, the carrier furnishing advanced service must file with the FCC a schedule of charges and practices.

Discontinues the regulatory relief provided under this Act for a carrier for which a State makes a final determination of failure to comply with FCC or State rules concerning collocation or loop provisioning (with authorized reinstatement).

Requires carriers using equipment located in a remote terminal to provide to any requesting telecommunications carrier access to subloop elements at such terminal for the provision of advanced services and rights-of- way for such purposes.

Mandates that no carrier shall be required to: (1) make any payment for the transport, delivery, or termination of telecommunications to the Internet or any Internet service provider (making such actions subject to exclusive FCC jurisdiction); or (2) provide network elements on an unbundled basis unless those elements are to be used predominately to provide telephone exchange service.