As Commerce Chair, Sen Rockefeller Will Be Passionate about Universal Broadband

With Sen John Rockefeller (D-WV) all but assured the helm of the Senate Commerce Committee, big telephone and Internet companies can expect stepped-up oversight on a host of consumer-related issues, from phone and Internet prices to privacy. Industry insiders expect Sen Rockefeller to be more active in telecom than his predecessor, the mild-mannered Sen Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who is vacating the Commerce post to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee. Sen Rockefeller is next in line on the Commerce Committee. "I don't think we'll have a hands-off chairman," when it comes to telecom, said one industry insider of Sen Rockefeller. Rockefeller is passionate about bringing high-speed Internet access to Americans who don't have it. In the 1990's, he co-authored the law subsidizing Internet access at schools and libraries. Internet buildout and other basic infrastructure development will be a general guiding principle for Rockefeller in creating jobs, supporters said. He has known an advocate of using monetary incentives to lure businesses into poorer areas. For example, he proposed legislation giving tax credits to companies that offer high-speed Internet in hard-to-serve regions. As chairman of the Commerce Committee, Rockefeller likely will push phone, cable, and Internet companies to improve their privacy policies and keep subscriber rates down, as he has in the past.