Congress Needs to Update Telecom Act of 1996

Verizon Communications EVP Tom Tauke says the time has come to revamp the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in light of new developments related to the Internet.

In addition to creating a uniform national policy, the framework should not involve anticipatory rulemaking, but rather principles that allow for case-by-case adjudication.

The test for government intervention in the marketplace should be to prevent either harm to consumers or anti-competitive activity. And a single federal agency should be given clear jurisdiction.

Though he didn't specifically say those, those principles will rule out preemptive common carrier regulation of broadband.

Congress Needs to Update the Nation's Antiquated and Anti-Competitive Telecom Rules