The House energy and commerce committee released a 77-page draft of a broadband regulations bill that would put DSL and cable providers on equal footing. The bill would also allow municipalities to run their own broadband services as long as they comply with the same regulations as their private sector counterparts. The draft proposes that BITS, VoIP, and broadband video services be subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction and have to register with the FCC. These services cannot block their users' access to any content or applications and must allow them to connect to their services with whatever devices they choose.
The committee also gave considerable attention to VoIP services. The draft lets VoIP providers negotiate their own rates with wireline carriers, but the FCC can mediate if the talks fail. Another regulation demands VoIP services ensure that their users have 911 and e911 services, in accordance with future FCC rulings on such requirements.
For more details of the House broadband bill:
- take a look at this article from CNet