WASHINGTON, DC – A final version of the “Communications, Consumer’s Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006” has made its way out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and now is due to be debated by the full Senate. The legislation may yet face a filibuster, however, from Senators who are unhappy that the Act contains no provisions requiring so-called “net neutrality.”A group of corporations calling themselves the Coalition of Broadband Users and Innovators has opposed the legislation, saying that allowing telecoms to charge an added premium to guarantee high-speed delivery of content will hurt smaller companies, and favor those who can afford the higher fees.
The Coalition, which includes Google, Microsoft, Apple Computer, Disney, Yahoo!, and Amazon.com, was opposed by telecoms, cable companies and various internet service providers who stand to benefit from the new legislation, assuming the Act is passed in its current form.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and John Kerry (D-MA) have stated that they may filibuster the Act.
“The days of unfettered, unlimited, and free access to any site on the world wide web, what I call net neutrality, are being threatened,” said Wyden, according to ArsTechnica.com. “Those who own the pipes, the giant cable and phone companies, want to discriminate on which sites you can access. The inclusion of this provision compels me to inform my colleagues that I would object to any unanimous consent request for the United States Senate to move to consider this bill.”
Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) has acknowledged that he lacks the 60 votes necessary to stop a filibuster, so a filibuster could stop the Act in its tracks. The bill also varies greatly from a version passed by the House of Representatives and would need to be reconciled with the House version by way of adding or removing amendments from the floor during the debate.
Attempts to include a net neutrality provision failed after a three-day hearing in which the Commerce Committee considered an amendment offered by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND). Snowe and Dorgan’s amendment would have prohibited phone and cable companies from limiting access to their high-speed internet networks.
“What’s at stake is the internet in the 21st century,” said Snowe. “This is the preservation of digital democracy.”
