Followup-To: comp.org.eff.talk Reps. Markey and Fields Introduce H.R. 3636, the "National Communications Competition and Information Infrastructure Act of 1993": EFF Applauds Inclusion of Open Platform Provisions On Monday, November 22, 1993, EFF applauded House Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Minority Chairman Jack Fields (R-Tex.), and other cosponsors for introducing the "National Communications Competition and Information Infrastructure Act of 1993." The Markey/Fields legislation, which incorporates EFF's Open Platform philosophy, is built on three concepts: open platform services, the entry of telephone companies into video cable service, and universal service. Reacting to the open platform provisions, Mitchell Kapor, EFF Board Chairman, stated: "The sponsors of this bill are to be commended for proposing legislation that incorporates a truly democratic vision of the emerging data highway. Open platform service can end channel scarcity once and for all and make it possible for any information provider to offer voice, data, and video services on the data highway. Every citizen will be able to access a true diversity of information and programming." EFF Executive Director Jerry Berman added that "we believe public interest and nonprofit groups, as well as computer and communications industry leaders will work very hard for the open platform provisions. Our goal is to keep them in the bill and make them even stronger before its enactment." BELOW, EFF BRIEFLY SUMMARIZES THE BILL'S PROVISIONS RELATING TO OPEN PLATFORM SERVICES, THE ENTRY OF TELEPHONE COMPANIES INTO VIDEO CABLE SERVICE, AND UNIVERSAL SERVICE. AN EFF ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE BILL ON PUBLIC INTEREST GOALS OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE, COMMON CARRIAGE, AND CONSUMER EQUITY WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS IT IS COMPLETED. OPEN PLATFORM Under the Markey/Fields bill, open platform service is designed to give residential subscribers access to voice, data, and video digital telephone service on a switched, end-to-end basis. Information of the customer's choosing would be transmitted to points specified by the customer. The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the policy changes needed to provide open platform service at affordable rates. To ensure affordability, open platform service would be tariffed at reasonable rates. ENTRY OF TELEPHONE COMPANIES INTO VIDEO CABLE SERVICE The bill promotes the entry of telephone companies into video cable service and seeks to benefit consumers by spurring competition in the local telephone and cable television industries. The bill envisions that telephone companies, cable companies, and others will be interconnected and have equal access to facilities of the local telephone companies. The bill would rescind the ban on telephone company ownership and delivery of video programming that was enacted in the Cable Act of 1984. Telephone companies would be allowed to provide video programming, through a separate subsidiary, to subscribers in its telephone service area. Telephone companies would be required to establish a "video platform" upon which to offer their video programming. Telephone companies, on a nondiscriminatory basis, would be required to allow other providers to offer video programming to subscribers using the same video platform. Other providers would be allowed to use up to 75 percent of the video platform capacity. Telephone companies would be prohibited from buying cable systems within their telephone service territory, with only tightly drawn exceptions. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would be required to establish rules for compensating local telephone companies for providing interconnection and equal access. UNIVERSAL SERVICE To ensure that universal digital services are available to residential subscribers at affordable rates as local telephone service becomes more competitive, the Markey/Fields bill would establish a joint Federal-State Board to perpetuate universal provision of high-quality telephone service. The Board would be required to define the nature and extent of the services encompassed within a telephone company's universal service obligation. The Board also would be charged with promoting access to advanced telecommunications technology. The FCC is required to prescribe standards necessary to ensure that advances in network capabilities and services deployed by common carriers are designed to be accessible to individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden is posed by such requirements. Additionally, within one year of enactment, the bill requires the FCC to initiate an inquiry to examine the effects of competition in the provision of both telephone exchange access and telephone exchange service furnished by rural carriers. Mary Beth Arnett Staff Counsel Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G Street, NW Suite 950 East Washington, DC 20001 (202) 347-5400 VOICE (202) 393-5509 FAX -- Stanton McCandlish mech@eff.org 1:109/1103 EFF Online Activist & SysOp O P E N P L A T F O R M C R Y P T O P O L I C Y O N L I N E R I G H T S N E T W O R K I N G V I R T U A L C U L T U R E I N F O : M E M B E R S H I P @ E F F . O R G