TIA to FCC: Deregulate Broadband!

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Matthew J. Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), today made the following statement after the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on the state of the telecommunications industry: "TIA continues to believe that it is imperative that the FCC act very timely to correct the regulatory disincentives to increased investment in last-mile, broadband communications facilities. We thank the committee for recognizing today the sense of urgency that those of us in the industry, particularly on the equipment supplier side, have felt for quite some time now. We also appreciate FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s leadership in striving to adhere to the statutory requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Clearly a fundamental premise of the act is to promote facilities based competition. "We renew our call for the FCC, in its Triennial Review of its unbundling rules, to determine that the unbundling rules adopted under Section 251 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 do not apply to fiber, remote terminals and DSL (and successor) electronics deployed on the customer side of central office. It is time that all of the various broadband platforms are freed up from stifling regulation so that providers compete to offer consumers a choice of fast interactive, content-rich broadband services. We believe such action will result in the growth, innovation and jobs necessary to return the industry to a driver of the U.S. economy." Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)