WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A minimum of approximately 77,000 telecom and high-tech jobs would be lost if H.R. 1542 (The Tauzin-Dingell bill) becomes law, according to a coalition representing hundreds of telecom companies and Internet service providers (ISPs).
Simultaneously, the coalition released a letter to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert that urged the Speaker not to bring the bill to the House floor. Signed by 106 CEOs of telecom companies across the U.S., the letter stated that the bill's passage ``could create the worst possible scenario (for consumers) -- four megacompanies each possessing an unregulated monopoly over local telephone services and Internet access.
``At a time when the American economy stands at such a precarious point, it's incredible that Congress may actually consider a bill that would force entrepreneurial companies into bankruptcy, put a minimum of 77,000 people out of work, and raise consumer prices by up to 50 percent,'' said John Windausen, Jr., president of the Association of Local Telecommunication Services (ALTS), which is part of the coalition opposing the bill.
The Tauzin-Dingell bill would roll back one of the most important consumer protections of current federal telecom law. It would essentially reward the nation's four giant Bell companies for their five-year effort to stop implementation of existing federal equal access laws. The bill would allow them to continue their monopoly hold over the nation's local telecom service and use those gains to stamp out competition in such crucial areas as high- speed Internet access.
The job loss statistics were announced Wednesday at a press conference that included George Schmitt, CEO of e.spire Communications; Roscoe C. Young, II, president and COO, KMC Telecom; and David Baker, vice president of law and public policy at EarthLink. Also attending were U.S. Reps. John Conyers (MI), Chris Cannon (UT), and Bill Luther (MN).
Young said that passage of Tauzin-Dingell would ``result in no choice for communications in rural or remote areas, higher phone bills and thousands of people out of work.''
Schmitt emphasized the destructive impact of Tauzin-Dingell on jobs and the telecom industry. ``This bill calls for returning monopoly power to the four giant phone monopolies. Many companies that can no longer compete will fold, thus eliminating thousands of jobs that support thousands of families and leaving consumers with much higher bills for basic services.''
Baker declared, ``The Bells are making it virtually impossible for consumers to get DSL service from anyone except their own affiliates. In California, for example, Pacific Bell/SBC has made it impossible for Internet customers to change to an independent ISP without losing their DSL connection for weeks or months at a time. Tauzin-Dingell will eliminate thousands of independent Internet service providers and the jobs they provide.''
Additional information, including the full text of the CEO letter to Speaker
Hastert, can be found at: http://www.ALTS.org
. To contact representatives from this coalition, please call Adam Bromberg or
Kristie Meave at 703-683-5004.
FULL STATEMENTS FROM PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDEES
THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TAUZIN-DINGELL BILL
George Schmitt, CEO of e.spire Communications, Inc:
Our legislators should not support this bill because, if passed, it
would harm not only our already bruised telecom sector but also our
struggling national economy. Many companies like e.spire,
encouraged by the Telecom Act of 1996, have spent millions of
dollars to build networks that deliver excellent and competitively-
priced services to consumers. This bill, undermining the Act, calls
for returning monopoly power to the ILECS, causing many companies
that can no longer compete to fold, thus eliminating thousands of
jobs that support thousands of families and leaving consumers with
much higher bills for basic services.
Roscoe C. Young, II, President and COO of KMC Telecom:
Passage of Tauzin-Dingell signals the death knell to Telecom
competition which was the point of the Telecommunications Act of
1996. It will result in fewer options and no choice for
communications in rural or remote areas, higher phone bills for
everyone and thousands of people out of work ... that's what Tauzin
Dingell means.
Dave Baker, Chairman of the California Internet Service Providers Association (CISPA) and Vice President of Law & Public Policy for EarthLink:
As a member of the Advisory Board of the US Internet Service
Providers Alliance (USISPA), the nation's largest grassroots network
of independent ISPs, I am here today to stand up not only for
thousands of Internet providers, but for millions of Internet users.
The Bells are making it virtually impossible for consumers to get
DSL service from anyone except their own affiliates. In California,
for example, Pacific Bell/SBC has made it impossible for Internet
customers to change to an independent ISP without losing their DSL
connection for weeks or months at a time. And Bell companies can
afford to be this blatantly anti-competitive because any fines or
legal fees are merely a cost of doing business.
The Tauzin-Dingell bill will eliminate thousands of independent
Internet service providers and the jobs they provide. And it will
raise the cost of broadband internet access for millions of
Americans.
SOURCE: Association of Local Telecommunication Services