DJ Looming Senate Shift Casts More Doubt On Broadband Dereg
24 May 08:15
By Mark Wigfield
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(This story was published late Wednesday)
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A change in party control in the Senate could dim
chances further that the Baby Bells will win passage of a broadband
deregulation bill likely to be sent over by the House.
But the overall impact on telecommunications of a switch between the current
chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and the ranking Democrat, Sen. Ernest
Hollings, D-S.C., is likely to be minimal, according to telecommunications
analyst Blair Levin of Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc.
"The leadership of the Federal Communications Commission would not change,
though the chances of pro-Bell broadband legislation would virtually
disappear," Levin wrote in an analysis.
Vermont Sen. James Jeffords, a moderate Republican, told reporters Wednesday
he would become an independent. That switches control of the evenly divided
Senate to the Democrats, leaving committee chairmanships under Democratic
control.
The key panel for telecommunications issues is the Senate Commerce Committee,
now chaired by McCain. Taking over would be Hollings, who has been closer to
the long-distance companies and competitive telecommunications companies, which
are bitterly fighting the Bell deregulation bill in the House, known as the
Tauzin-Dingell bill.
While Hollings was always seen as a major impediment to the bill, Verizon
General Counsel William Barr said in a recent interview he was hopeful that at
least one key portion of it would survive Senate review. But the chances for
such compromise are diminished by having a more strenuous opponent of the bill
in the chairman's seat.
The Senate Commerce Committee will "not be just a minefield," says Gene
Kimmelman, a lobbyist for Consumers Union. "It's a road block on day one.
They'll have trouble getting into the minefield."
Kimmelman believes the shift in committee leadership could also change the
political environment for the FCC as it considers modifying the limits on
broadcast and cable ownership issues. The commission is also reviewing limits
on how much spectrum any one wireless telecommunications provider can own in a
market.
While McCain, like FCC Chairman Michael Powell, is more skeptical of these
limits, "Hollings has been strong in his belief in limits on media ownership,"
Kimmelman said. The FCC may be reluctant to incur Hollings' political wrath,
especially since one nominee to the commission, Democrat Michael Copps, was
hand-chosen by Hollings.
However, the Commerce Committee is "very bipartisan," notes
telecommunications analyst Scott Cleland of the Precursor Group. "Hollings has
a lot of power as a ranking member, so this is not a tectonic shift."
But Hollings "will have a bigger megaphone to frighten foreigners," Cleland
adds. Hollings bitterly opposed the merger between German government-owned
Deutsche Telekom (DT) and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. (VSTR).
-By Mark Wigfield, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-828-3397;
mark.wigfield@dowjones.com
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 05-24-01
08:15 AM |
