Time to Adopt New Telecommunications Act

Congress needs to take dramatic steps to bring telecommunications regulation into the 21st century, and to close the race- and wealth-related ownership, employment and participation divides to make possible the fulfillment of our most treasured democratic principles. To accomplish these goals, Congress needs to think big and act big. The time has come for Congress to adopt a new Telecommunications Act for the Digital Age to update or replace the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Here is what such a statute could accomplish:

• It could make the United States the world’s leader in broadband infrastructure, adoption, informed use and consumer protection.
• It could release the FCC from regulatory make-work when disruptive technologies ensure the market’s competitiveness, and it could empower the FCC to take strong steps to protect consumers when the market has failed due to such external factors as systemic racial discrimination and its present effects.
• It could harmonize regulation across the ecosystem of converging and competing industries to ensure technological neutrality and consistent consumer protection.
• It could both expect and enable the Commission to rapidly resolve complex issues while winning the confidence of the appellate courts.
• It could enable the nation to achieve universal broadband access, adoption, and affordability within five years.
• And it could ensure that all Americans, including minorities and women, will participate fully as owners and managers in the media, telecom and high tech industries.