07/17/00 Committee on the Judiciary

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on the Judiciary

Henry J. Hyde, Chairman www.house.gov/judiciary

News Advisory

For immediate release July 17, 2000

Contact: Sam Stratman/Terry Shawn (202) 225-2492

Hyde Panel to Review

Broadband Access Legislation

Tuesday Hearing to Review Legislation to Open Info Super Highway

What: Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1686, the "Internet Freedom Act" and H.R. 1685, the "Internet Growth and Development Act of 1999"

When: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 at 9:30 a.m.

Where: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building

In the Current Telecommunications World...

With the emergence of high speed, broadband technology, new questions emerge regarding competition among the world's leading telecom providers. Congress owes American consumers optimum market competition on the information superhighway.

Telecom providers are competing to offer converged services: Internet, long distance, local phone, cable, or satellite TV will soon be brought into homes by single companies, offering more convenience and better service.

Cable technology (known as broadband) can carry more information at faster speeds than even the most advanced telephone lines - these more robust cable lines are the key to the future of communication, as the Internet takes its place as the driving force in the information age. At the same time, telephone companies are upgrading their DSL technology to compete with the cable technology.

Facing this reality, major providers of one sort of communication (Internet, phone, cable, etc.) have been merging with providers of others - i.e. AT&T has acquired two of the largest cable providers in the country - all in an effort to send their audio, video, or data along those high-speed, broadband cables. Likewise, AOL is acquiring Time-Warner for similar reasons.

This Hearing will seek answers to Questions, including:

How competitive and consumer-friendly will the converged telecommunications market be to American subscribers to telephone, TV, and Internet services?
What role does Congress have in guaranteeing the most competitive, open, and consumer-friendly environment for communication in the 21^st century?

WITNESSES: U.S. Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA); William Kennard, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission; Tom Tauke, Verizon Communications; Mike McCurry, Co-Chair, iAdvance; Randy Lowe, Prism Communications Services, Inc.; Glenn Ivey, Maryland Public Service Commission on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Scott Cleland, The Precursor Group; Preston Padden, The Walt Disney Company; Dave Baker, EarthLink, Inc. on behalf of the openNET Coalition; Len Cali, AT&T; Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.; Robert Sachs, National Cable Television Association.

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