S.2686 the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006

* On Sept 30, the Senate Commerce Committee released its report on the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006.

* Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) vowed to move his telecommunications bill during a post-election congressional session. While Sen Stevens acknowledged that his bill "obviously can't be done before we go into recess," he said he is hopeful the Senate will schedule lame-duck floor action before adjournment. See http://www.benton.org/node/3582

* On Sept 19, 2006 more than 100 companies from the networking and communications sector, including Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and Qualcomm, signed their names to a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Democratic Leader Harry Reid. The one-page document encouraged them to schedule a vote "in the very near future," adding that it was "too soon to enact network neutrality legislation."

* At the Sept 12 renomination hearing of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said the issue of Net Neutrality may well kill his communications bill. See http://www.benton.org/node/3405

*Sept 7, 2006 Democratic senators are blocking Republicans from potentially using a pending "enhanced 911" bill as a vehicle for passing major telecommunications legislation, multiple Capitol Hill sources said. See http://www.benton.org/node/3352

* September 5, 2006: A new summary of the bill is now available.

* Sept 6, 2006 The National League of Cities released The Truth About Telecom Taxes and Reform: The Real Effect on Local Government. U.S. state and local governments could lose $8 billion a year in revenue if Congress further restricts their ability to tax telecommunications services, the report finds.

* Sept 1, 2006 Advocates of Net Neutrality laws took to knocking on office doors of U.S. senators in 25 cities across the nation. Small groups of citizens, small businesses, nonprofits and individuals allied with the "Save the Internet" coalition staged rallies on Wednesday and Thursday. Hoisting orange signs touting their cause, they presented senators' offices with petitions signed by thousands who support legislation mandating the divisive concept, defined as a broad prohibition against prioritizing Internet content and services. See http://www.benton.org/node/3289

* Sen John Ensign (R-NV) said that the video franchise reform bill probably won't be able to pass unless expansion of the universal service fund (USF) remains in the bill. Its passage in any form is increasingly problematic, but he is still hopeful that constituents will contact their senators and push for the bill. See http://www.benton.org/node/3166

* On August 4, the bill as approved by the Senate Commerce Committee was released. A summary will follow soon. (For those scoring at home, the bill now goes by HR5252 in both the House and the Senate.)

* On August 1, Broadcasting&Cable reported that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has not scheduled a floor vote this week for the video franchise bill, and is "highly unlikely to" given the already crowded schedule. See http://www.benton.org/ode/3124

* On July 27, Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) expressed confidence that he would reach the 60-vote threshold of support necessary to stave off delaying tactics and move his sweeping telecommunications overhaul measure to the Senate floor. But while Sen Stevens said he is close to the 60-vote mark, he acknowledged during an impromptu interview that he has not reached it. See Stevens 'Very Close' To Votes Needed For Senate Telecom Bill

* On June 28, by a 15-7 vote, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to send the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act to the full Senate for a vote. Its fate there is hardly assured. See http://www.benton.org/node/2818. Backers will have to line up 60 votes to ensure an up/down vote on the bill. They hope to get those votes -- and floor time in the Senate -- in September.

* On June 27, the Senate Commerce Committee began its second day of hearings on video franchise reform with Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) trying to accommodate a host of groups in marking up a bill he hopes will pass committee and the full Senate. He does not yet have the necessary votes to get legislation to overhaul communications laws through the full Senate and Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) promised to block any bill that does not contain strong Net Neutrality provisions. See a recap of the day's developments at http://www.benton.org/node/2814

* Broadcasting&Cable reports that fate of the Senate's video franchise/telecom reform bill grew cloudier Thursday (6/22) as votes on a raft of amendments were put off until next week and Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) reportedly questioned whether he had the votes to block a filibuster on the floor. Thursday's markup of the bill was expected to go deep into the day but ended after only a couple of hours. Chairman Stevens postponed further action on the bill until Tuesday June 27. See http://www.benton.org/node/2784

* A list of amendments that may be offered at the June 22 mark-up.

* On June 16, a third draft of the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act was released. Reuters reports that Sen Stevens has added a new section to his bill aimed at preserving consumers' ability to surf anywhere on the public Internet and use any Web-based application. However, the new draft does not include a ban on pricing content companies have demanded. Sen Stevens' compromise would also create a complaint process through the FCC if consumers believe their access rights were violated and the agency would be authorized to adjudicate complaints with penalties, according to the draft. However, the FCC would be barred from issuing any regulations under the new law that would add to the obligations on Internet service providers. The compromise is somewhat similar to legislation that passed the House of Representatives. See a quick summary of the new Network Neutrality provisions.

* On June 9, a new draft of the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act was released.

* On June 8, 2006, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said that a revised draft of his committee's version of a communications reform/video franchise reform bill will not be released this week. He will review the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act (HR 5252) passed by the House on the same day.

At the May 18 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Chairman Ted Stevens announced a revised schedule for consideration of the bill: schedule for consideration for what could be a fast-moving bill:

* Communications Reform Bill Hearing I
Thursday, May 18th
10:00 am
commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1872

* Communications Reform Bill Hearing II
Thursday, May 25th
10:00 am
commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1873

* Communications Reform Bill Hearing III
Tuesday, June 13th

* Full Committee Markup
Tuesday, June 20th