Rep. Terry (R-Neb.) introduced bill that would create rural ‘voic...
Rep. Terry (R-Neb.) introduced bill that would create rural “voice” at FCC through creation of Rural Affairs Advisory Board that would consist of unpaid 5 members from rural telecom companies -- 4 wireline representatives and one from wireless field.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
It would issue advisory opinions on new rules proposed by FCC, as well as regulations already in place, Terry’s office said. “Telecommunications companies that serve rural America are at a competitive disadvantage because the FCC’s decisions neglect or even ignore their unique needs,” Terry said. Bill would give small businesses “legal recourse to get answers if their suggestions are ignored,” he said: “Providing wireless, wireline or broadband services to rural America is not a glamorous proposition. Large companies mostly ignore these areas because the infrastructure needs are great and the costs of deployment are high, but the federal support is lacking.” Companies that serve rural Neb. must follow same “inflexible” FCC rules as those for nationwide companies that serve large metropolitan areas, he said. Bill would increase federal govt.’s accountability to Regulatory Flexibility Act that compels federal agencies to create flexible policies with small and rural businesses in mind. OPASTCO said Terry “deserves credit” for introducing bill, but stopped short of endorsing measure. It said bill, along with FCC rural office proposal by Sen. Harkin (D-Ia.), deserved congressional hearings. Harkin hasn’t yet introduced bill. “It is absolutely critical that the issues raised by the Terry bill, Harkin proposal and other similar initiatives are not lost at the end of the 107th Congress,” OPASTCO Pres. John Rose said. CTIA “expressed dismay” at introduction of bill that it said would increase bureaucracy of FCC. “You don’t fix the problem of burdensome and unnecessary regulations by creating yet another cog in the regulatory wheel,” CTIA Pres. Tom Wheeler said. “The best way to expand wireless services for all Americans is to stop the headlong rush to impose unfunded mandates that dominate regulatory thinking today.” Neb. PSC Chmn. Anne Boyle also stopped short of expressing support for bill, saying it was “better than nothing.” She said FCC already had Wireless Bureau to address those concerns and that wireless presence wasn’t warranted on rural board. Boyle said she supported Harkin proposal to create rural office in FCC, and said board that met periodically and outside of FCC wouldn’t likely have level of access to Commission needed to monitor rural issues. “It’s not the superior bill,” Boyle said.