Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
APRIL 13, 1999, TUESDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
761 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
SENATOR
JOHN MCCAIN
CHAIRMAN
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION
COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
BODY:
Good morning. I would like to thank all
of our witnesses for appearing today at this hearing on the future of Internet
access and the consumer. The purpose of this hearing is to examine how to
facilitate the deployment of faster, higher-speed Internet access services --
and how to ensure that these benefits are extended to all American consumers.
The new Internet economy is creating unprecedented prosperity for Americans.
Information technology now accounts for more than one third of our economic
growth. And it has been estimated that broadband services, once deployed, will
grow to a $150 billion a year market. Moreover, the potential benefits of
broadband Internet applications are well known: e-commerce, advanced interactive
instructional capabilities, telemedicine, telecommuting, and video on demand,
just to name a few.
It is important to ensure that the enormous benefits of
advanced telecommunications services are accessible to all Americans, regardless
of where they live, what they do, or how much they earn. High-speed data service
finally gives us the chance to assure that all people really are given a fair
shake in terms of economic, social, and educational development. In that sense
advanced telecommunications has the potential to be a great equalizer,
eliminating the disadvantages of location and socioeconomic status that resulted
from the Industrial Revolution. Unless all consumers have access to these
services, however, Industrial Age disadvantages will perpetuate themselves in
the Information Age.
First, let me provide a brief context for today's
hearing.
Both cable companies and telephone companies are rushing to install
updated technologies for faster access to advanced telecommunications networks.
Cable companies are developing cable modems, which provide high speed Internet
access on the same cable as a consumer's cable TV service.
Cable modem
service, however, is bundled with the cable companies' own Internet portal
service, so that access to other Internet service providers is more limited and
costs more.
Competing Internet service providers, led by America Online,
argue that the inability of cable modem subscribers to select the Internet
portal of their choice is anti-competitive and a threat to their future
viability. Their solution is for cable companies to be forced to open their
networks and be subject to non-discriminatory access obligations for the last
mile of cable to the home.
The telephone companies' version of high, speed
Internet access provided by is Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL.
DSL uses existing copper telephone lines to transmit data from the
Internet to your home or office at extremely high speeds. Consumers can also
receive traditional voice telephone service through the same line used for
DSL and can use both services at the same time.
Unlike
cable modem service, DSL service gives its subscribers open
access to any of the multiple Internet Service Providers that use the telephone
DSL network. However, although local telephone lines reach the
vast majority of residential consumers, the telephone companies argue that
current federal regulation hinders their ability to fully deploy
DSL, especially in rural areas.
High-speed Internet access
is only available to about 2 percent of all American households today. Given the
huge investments necessary to build these networks, there is growing concern
that rural and disadvantaged areas will lag behind the rest of the country in
having access to advanced Internet-based technology.
This brings us to the
two questions we will examine at this hearing.
The first question is, what
problems might result from the fact that cable modem service only gives its
subscribers limited choice in accessing a high-speed Internet service provider?
The second question is, what problems might result from the fact that 98 percent
of residential consumers have no high-speed Internet access at all, and that
rural and low-income consumers may get it significantly later than their urban,
higher-income counterparts?
This second question is particularly troubling
to me. Wireless technologies like satellite and microwave communications will
ultimately provide ubiquitous high-speed data service. But" ultimately "won't
erase the disadvantages that will accrue in the interim if the benefits of
advanced data service flow to urbanized, higher-income areas first.
Today I
hope to gain an insight on what must be done to assure that all Americans will
have timely access to advanced telecommunications services.
END
LOAD-DATE: April 14, 1999
