TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996 -- HON. RICK LAZIO (Extensions of Remarks - February 15, 2000)

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HON. RICK LAZIO OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, February 15, 2000

Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, it has been four years since the Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to open local markets to competition. While many of us hoped competition would not take this long, it is now beginning to take root. Since passage of the Act, over $30 billion has been invested by CLECs alone in new networks and there are more than 300 facilities based competitors now versus only 30 in 1995.

The ILECs have also invested tremendously since passage of the Act. Just last month, the FCC approved Bell Atlantic's application to offer long distance service in New York State. This was a landmark decision. I want to congratulate Bell Atlantic for doing what was necessary to open its local markets. The consumers of New York State are the winners. We are already seeing new choices in services and for the first time, competitive choices in local service. Mr. Speaker, the Act is working and it has worked first in New York State.

I want to congratulate many people for the work that they did to give consumers in New York State a choice in local service. First, I want to congratulate the New York Commission that tirelessly worked with all the concerned parties to make sure that the process and the outcome was fair. This process allowed all parties to work through the technical challenges of opening up the local network. Second, I want to congratulate Competitive Local Exchange Carriers that went into New York State a year ago and began offering local residential service on a statewide basis.

Mr. Speaker we are in the beginning of a technology revolution that is sweeping across this country. Since the 1996 Telecom Act, hundreds of new competitive telecommunications carriers have been formed and thousands of new Internet Service Providers are in existence today. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a great success and consumers are just now beginning to reap its benefits. I'm proud that New York has led the way, and I look forward to the day when the rest of this country's citizens enjoy the same freedom of choice.
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