textfiles-politics/old/regexConsp/hr-3515.xml

<xml><p>HR-3515.TXT</p>

<p>Article by Kaleb Axon
House bill HR 3515 transcribed by James D Bryant II</p>

<p>This file may be requested from 1:280/77 @fidonet as
"HR-3515.ZIP".  The following related files are also available:</p>

<p>   HR-3515.ZIP Text of House bill HR 3515, and an article
   concerning its contents.</p>

<p>   TX-8387.ZIP A brief announcement of the decision in Texas
   PUC docket 8387, Reginald A. Hirsch, et. al.
   vs Southwestern Bell Telephone company, and a
   portion of the text of this decision.</p>

<p>   3515-LTR.ZIP  A sample letter to be sent to your congressmen
   concerning HR 3515.  Please do not copy this
   letter exactly; letter-writing compaigns are
   more effective if every letter is different.</p>

<div>----------------------------------------------------------------------</div>

<p> H.R. 3515 -- Transcribed by James D. Bryant II on Nov. 24, 1991
  I have proofed this twice, it should not contain any
  errors or omissions, I can't access my spell checker
  right now, there may be a typo or two somewhere..</p>

<p>Please note that this is not the article written by James Bryant.  I
wrote my own notice here, because I strongly disagree with his
viewpoint on this bill.  His article may be file requested from
1:1/1 @fidonet as "ta91.zip".</p>

<p>The following document is a full transcription of the
Telecommunications Act of 1991.</p>

<p>IF THIS BILL PASSES, IT WILL GIVE THE BELL OPERATING COMPANIES
AND OTHER PHONE SERVICE CARRIERS THE FREEDOM TO CHARGE BBS
OPERATORS WHATEVER RATES THEY SEE FIT.</p>

<p>Please write your congressmen, expressing your opposition to this
bill!  Be sure to mention the following points:</p>

<p>1.  BBSs are not-for-profit.</p>

<p>2.  BBSs are not typically used as heavily as larger, for-profit
  information services.</p>

<p>3.  BBS operators do not typically charge money for use of the
  system.</p>

<p>4.  The section of the proposed bill which concerns us is (quote
  this exactly):</p>

<p> section 201A(e) of this bill's proposed ammendment to the
 Communications Act of 1934</p>

<p>5.  In the state of Texas, Southwestern Bell Telephone attempted
  to charge business rates to all BBSs, and the Texas Public
  Utilities Commission unanimously agreed that this was
  unfair.  In your letter, refer to Texas PUC docket 8387,
  Reginald A. Hirsch, et. al. vs Southwestern Bell Telephone
  Company.  Partial text of their resolution may be requested
  for inclusion in your letter, from 1:280/77 @fidonet as
  "TX-8387.ZIP".</p>

<p>Please TELL your Congressman and Senators, and all members of the
involved committees to vote <special> NO </special> on this bill, unless it is
ammended to guarantee residential phone rates to not-for-profit,
free BBSs.</p>

<p>The basic principle of this bill is a good one; it is intended to
prevent the Bell companies from monopolizing the information
services.  Please do not say anything in your letter which could
be interpreted as opposition to that basic principle.</p>

<div>--------------------------------------------------------------</div>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 01 of 35]</p>

<p>   H.R. 3515</p>

<p>To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to encourage competition in the
provision of electronic information services, to foster the continued
diversity of information sources and services, to preserve the universal
availability of basic telecommunications services, and for other
purposes.</p>

<div>----------------------------------------------------------</div>

<p>   IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES</p>

<p>   October 8, 1991</p>

<p>Mr. Cooper (for himself, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Synar, Mr. Schaefer, and Mr.
Bryant) introduced the following bill, which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce and the Judiciary.</p>

<div>----------------------------------------------------------</div>

<p>    A BILL</p>

<p>To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to encourage competition in the
provision of electronic information services, to foster the continued
diversity of information sources and services, to preserve the universal
availability of basic telecommunications services, and for other
purposes.</p>

<p>1  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,</p>

<p>3 SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE</p>

<p>4  This Act may be cited as the "Telecommunications
5 Act of 1991".</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 02 of 35]</p>

<p> 1 SECTION 2.  FINDINGS AND PURPOSES</p>

<p> 2   (a) Findings--The Congress finds that--</p>

<p> 3  (1) the national welfare will be enhanced by the
 4   continued development of robust competition in the
 5   provision of electronic information services and tele-
 6   communications services;</p>

<p> 7  (2) the widest possible availability of informa-
 8   tion and telecommunications services requires an
 9   open telecommunications infrastructure that incor-
 10   porates market-driven advances in technology and
 11   whose features and functions are available on a non-
 12   discriminatory and unbundled basis;</p>

<p> 13  (3) the availability of multiple and inter-
 14   connected complementary telecommunications net-
 15   works can enhance competition in the provision of
 16   information and telecommunications services;</p>

<p> 17  (4) the redundancy inherent in a pluralistic
 18   telecommunications infrastructure offers protection
 19   against network failures;</p>

<p> 20  (5) the cost-effective deployment of advanced
 21   public telecommunicatins networks, subject to ap-
 22   propriate safeguards, can further the long-standing
 23   goals of universal telephone service at affordable
 24   rates;</p>

<p> 25  (6) the provision of information services by di-
 26   vested operating companies prior to the development of</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 03 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   an effectively competitive telecommunications infra-
 2   structure would likely lead to higher rates for tele-
 3   phone exchange service and jepordize the diversity
 4   of information sources and services; and</p>

<p> 5  (7) current regulatory policies must be revised
 6   and supplemented to ensure the universal availability
 7   of telephone exchange service at reasonable rates
 8   and fair competition in delivery of telecommunicati-
 9   cations and information services.</p>

<p> 10   (b) PURPOSES--The purposes of this Act are to--</p>

<p> 11  (1) ensure the continued availability of afford-
 12   able telecommunications and information services
 13   that are essential to full participation in the nation's
 14   economic, political, and social life;</p>

<p> 15  (2) encourage the continued development of ad-
 16   vanced, reliable telecommunications networks;</p>

<p> 17  (3) ensure that the costs of such networks and
 18   the services provided over them are allocated equi-
 19   tably among users; and</p>

<p> 20  (4) ensure that the provision of information
 21   services by divested operating companies does not
 22   jepordize the universal availability of telephone ex-
 23   change service at reasonable rates or undermine
 24   competition in the information services marketplace.</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 04 of 35]</p>

<p> 1    TITLE I -- INFRASTRUCTURE</p>

<p> 2   DEVELOPMENT</p>

<p> 3 Sec. 101.  NETWORK STANDARDS</p>

<p> 4  Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 is
 5 amended by inserting after section 201 the following new
 6 section:</p>

<p> 7 "Sec. 201A. NETWORK STANDARDS.</p>

<p> 8   "(a) SERVICE QUALITY --</p>

<p> 9  "(1) ADOPTION OF STANDARDS.-- A Federal-
 10   State Joint Board shall be established under section
 11   401(c) not later than 90 days after the enactment
 12   of this subsection to impose and enforce network
 13   quality standards upon the common carriers for the
 14   purpose of ensuring the combined maintenance and
 15   evolution of common carrier facilities and services.
 16   Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
 17   of this subsection, the Joint Board shall initiate a
 18   rulemaking proceeding to establish standards, to be
 19   enforced by the Commission and the State Commis-
 20   sions as to matters within their respective jurisdic-
 21   tions, for measuring common carrier network qual-
 22   ity.</p>

<p> 23  "(2) REPORTS -- Each common carrier shall
 24   submit to the Joint Board established pursuant to
 25   paragraph (1) a quarterly data report, in a form re-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 05 of 35]</p>

<p>1   quired by the Joint Board, reguarding compliance
2   with the prescribed network quality standards.  The
3   Joint Board may require periodic independant audits
4   of common carrier compliance with the network
5   quality standards.  The Commission, upon the rec-
6   commendation of the Joint Board, shall establish en-
7   forcement penalties and procedures, including expe-
8   dited customer complaint mechanisms, to ensure
9   common carrier compliance with network quality
10   standards.</p>

<p>11   "(b) INTERCONNECTION --</p>

<p>12  "(1) GENERALLY-- Each local exchange carrier
13   shall provide interconnection, on a reasonable and
14   nondiscriminatory basis, to common carriers and
15   other providers of telecommunications services and
16   information services who request it.  An interconnect-
17   ing party may physically colocate the equipment nec-
18   essary for interconnection at the premises of a local
19   exchange carrier, except as provided under para-
20   graph (2).</p>

<p>21  "(2) VIRTUAL COLOCATION-- A local exchange
22   carrier that can demonstrate by clear and convincing
23   evidence in a particular case that the physical
24   colocation required under paragraph (1) is not pract-
25   ticable for technical reasons or because of space lim-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 06 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   itations shall offer an interconnecting party virtual
 2   colocation with it's premises.  Virtual colocation shall
 3   be economically and technically comparable to inter-
 4   connection that is or would be obtained through
 5   physical colocation of the interconnecting party's
 6   equipment at the premises of the local exchange car-
 7   ier.  Nothing in this paragraph shall relieve a di-
 8   vested operating company of it's obligations under
 9   section 227(d)(12).</p>

<p>10  "(3) EXCEPTION FOR RURAL EXCHANGE CAR-
11   RIERS.-- Notwithstanding any other provision of this
12   subsection, a rural exchange carrier shall not be re-
13   quired to provide interconnection to another local ex-
14   change carrier.</p>

<p>15  "(4) REGUALTIONS-- Within 270 days after the
16   date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of
17   1991, the Commission shall--</p>

<p>18   "(A) adopt and make effective rules to en-
19  force the oblications imposed by this subsection;
20  and</p>

<p>21   "(B) initiate a rulemaking to require that
22  the interconnection offered by a local exchange
23  carrier pursuant to this subsection shall provide
24  for the portability of telephone numbers.</p>

<p>25   "(c) NETWORK ACCESS--</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 07 of 35]</p>

<p> 1  "(1) REVISIONS TO ORDER-- The Commission
 2   shall further revise the order of the Commission en-
 3   titled 'Filing and Review of Open Network Archetec-
 4   ture Plans' CC Docket 88-2, Phase I, released De-
 5   cember 22, 1988, and subsequently revised, to re-
 6   quire that--</p>

<p> 7   "(A) the plans for compliance with such
 8  order offer unbundled features and functions;</p>

<p> 9   "(B) such features and functions are made
10  available on a reasonably uniform basis by all
11  of the common carriers subject to such order,
12  and that such features and functions are acces-
13  sible throughout the service territory of each
14  such carrier;</p>

<p>15   "(C) such plans include a schedule for
16  timely offering of new features asnd functions;
17  and</p>

<p>18   "(D) common carriers subject to such
19  order not unreasonably discriminate between af-
20  filiated and unaffiliated providers of informa-
21  tion services in offering tariffed and non-
22  tariffed features, functions, and capabilities.</p>

<p>23  "(2) REVIEW OF ORDER AND PLANS-- At least
24   once every three years, the Commission shall--</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 08 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   "(A) conduct a proceeding in which inter-
 2  ested parties shall have an opportunity to com-
 3  ment on whether the order described in para-
 4  graph (1), as further revised, and the plans
 5  filed pursuant to it have opened the networks of
 6  the carriers subject to such order to reasonable
 7  and non-discriminatory access by providers of
 8  telecommunications services and information
 9  services; and</p>

<p>10   "(B) not later than 180 days after receiv-
11  ing the reply comments filed in such proceed-
12  ing, revise such order as it deems necessary or
13  appropiate and require the common carriers
14  subject to such order to file new plans consist-
15  ent with such revisions, which new plans shall
16  also be subject to public comment and Commis-
17  sion review prior to their becoming effective.</p>

<p>18   "(d) PRIVACY-- Personally identifiable customer in-
19 formation obtained or collected by a local exchange carrier
20 in the course of providing telephone exchange service shall
21 be used only in connection with the provision of such serv-
22 ice, and shall not be made available to any affiliate of such
23 carrier or any other person except--</p>

<p>24  "(1) as required by law; or</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 09 of 35]</p>

<p> 1  "(2) upon the affirmative request by the cus-
 2   tomer to which such information relates.</p>

<p> 3   "(e) TARIFFS--</p>

<p> 4  "(1) GENERALLY-- A local exchange carrier
 5   shall prepare and file tariffs in accordance with this
 6   Act with respect to the interconnection and network
 7   access services required under this section.  The costs
 8   that a local exchange carrier incurs in providing
 9   such services shall be borne solely by the users of
10   the features and functions comprising such services.
11   The Commission shall review such tariffs to ensure
12   that--</p>

<p>13   "(A) the charges for such services are cost-
14  based; and</p>

<p>15   "(B) the terms and conditions contained in
16  such tariffs do not bundle together any sepa-
17  rable elements, features, or functions.</p>

<p>18  "(2) SUPPORTING INFORMATION-- A local ex-
19   change carrier shall submit supporting information
20   with it's tariffs for interconnection and network ac-
21   cess services that is sufficient to enable the Commis-
22   sion and the public to determine the relationship be-
23   tween the proposed charges and the cost of provid-
24   ing such services.  The submission of such informa-
25   tion shall be pursuant to the rules adopted by the Com-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 10 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   mission to ensure that similarly situated carriers
 2   provide such information in an uniform fashion.</p>

<p> 3  "(3) UNIVERSAL SERVICE ELEMENTS-- A local
 4   exchange carrier may include in it's tariffs for inter-
 5   connection services an element intended to recover
 6   the amount necessary to preclude any substantial in-
 7   creases in the rates for telephone exchange service
 8   that would otherwise result from the offering of
 9   interconnection services.  Such element shall be im-
10   posed at a uniform rate on any person who pur-
11   chases such services, and shall also be included at
12   the same rate in such carrier's charges for services
13   offered by the carrier in competition with the serv-
14   ices offered by interconnecting parties.  No later than
15   270 days after the date of enactment of the Tele-
16   communications Act of 1991, the Commission shall
17   adopt and make effective rules governing the cal-
18   culation of such element.  Any amounts recovered by
19   the local exchange carrier through the imposition of
20   this additional element shall be used to defray the
21   costs of providing telephone exchange servicce.</p>

<p>22   "(f) RESALE--  The resale of telephone exchange
23 service (or the unbundled elements of such service) in conjunc-
24 tion with the the furnishing of an interstate telecommuni-
25 cations service or any information service shall not be pro-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 11 of 35]</p>

<p> 1 hibited or subject to unreasonable conditions by the Com-
 2 mission, any State, or any local exchange carrier.</p>

<p> 3   "(g) COORDINATED PLANNING--  The Commission
 4 shall adopt and make effective rules for the conduct of
 5 coordinated network planning by common carriers, subject
 6 to Commission supervision, to ensure (1) the effective and
 7 efficient interconnection and interoperability of common
 8 carrier networks, and (2) that the design of such networks
 9 does not impede access to information services by sub-
10 scribers to telephone exchange service furnished by a rural
11 exchange carrier.</p>

<p>12   "(h) STUDY-- No later than 270 days after the en-
13 actment of the Telecommunications Act of 1991, the Com-
14 mission shall initiate an inquiry to examine the effects of
15 competition in the provision of telephone exchange access
16 and telephone exchange service on the availability and
17 rates for telephone exchange service furnished by rural ex-
18 change carriers.</p>

<p>19 SEC. 102. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CERTAIN COMPLAINTS</p>

<p>20   Section 208 of the Communications Act of 1934 is
21 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
22 subsection:</p>

<p>23   "(c) EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CERTAIN COM-
24 PLAINTS-- The Commission shall issue a final order with
25 respect to any complaint arising from alleged violations</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 12 of 35]</p>

<p> 1 of section 201A within 270 days after such complaint is
 2 filed".</p>

<p> 3 SEC. 103. EXPEDITED LICENSING OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES</p>

<p> 4   AND SERVICES.</p>

<p> 5   Section 7 of the Communications Act of 1934 is
 6 amended by adding to the end thereof the following new
 7 subsection:</p>

<p> 8   "(c) LICENSING OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES-- Within
 9 twenty-four months after making a determination under
10 subsection (b) that a technology or service related to the
11 furnishing of tlelcommunications services or information
12 services is in the public interest, the Commission shall
13 adopt and make effective rules for--</p>

<p>14  "(1) the provision of such technology or service;
15   and</p>

<p>16  "(2) the filing of applications for the authoriza-
17   tions necessary to offer such technology or service to
18   the public, and shall act on any such application
19   within twenty-four months after it is filed.  Any ap-
20   plication filed by a carrier under this subsection for
21   the construcction or extension of a line shall also be
22   subject to section 214 and to any necessary approval
23   by the appropriate State commissions".</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 13 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   TITLE II -- PROVISIONS AFFECTING
 2   DIVESTED OPERATING COMPANIES</p>

<p> 3 SEC. 201. PROVISION OF INFORMATION SERVICES</p>

<p> 4   Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 is
 5 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
 6 section:</p>

<p> 7 "SEC. 227. PROVISION OF INFORMATION SERVICES BY DI-
 8   OPERATING COMPANIES.</p>

<p> 9   "(a) PROVISION OF SERVICES-- A divested operating
10 company or an affiliate thereof may provide information
11 services, subject to this section and title IV.</p>

<p>12   "(b) ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING-- A divested operat-
13 ing company or an affiliate thereof may not offer elec-
14 tronic publishing services in any State in which such com-
15 pany or affiliate provides telephone exchange service until
16 the Commission, after notice and opportunity for public
17 comment and after consultation with the Department of
18 Justice and the appropriate State commissions, deter-
19 mines that--</p>

<p>20  "(1) at least 50 percent of all businesses and
21   residences within the areas in each State in which
22   such company or any affiliate thereof provides tele-
23   phone exchange service have access to transmission
24   and switching facilities (other than those owned or
25   controlled by a divested operating company or it's af-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 14 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   filiate) that are comparable in quality, cost, geo-
 2   graphic range, and functionality to those offered by
 3   the divested operating company for the delivery of
 4   electronic publishing services;</p>

<p> 5  "(2) at least 10 percent of all businesses and
 6   residences within the areas in each State in which
 7   such company provides telephone exchange service
 8   subscribe to services delivered over such alternative
 9   facilities; and</p>

<p>10  "(3) the divested operating company or affiliate
11   thereof seeking to provide such electronic publishing
12   services has demonstrated that there is no substan-
13   tial possibility that the divested operating company
14   could use it's position as a local exchange carrier to
15   (A) impede competition in the provision of electronic
16   publishing services, or (B) impose additional costs
17   upon subscribers of telephone exchange service.</p>

<p>18   "(c) WAIVER-- A divested operating company or an
19 affiliate thereof may petition the Commission for a waiver
20 of subsections (b) and (h) to provide a particular elec-
21 tronic publishing service.  Such petition shall be granted
22 if such company or affiliate can demonstrate to the Com-
23 mission by clear and convincing evidence that (A) such
24 service would not exist unless offered by such company
25 or affiliate, and (B) the provision of such service by such</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 15 of 35]</p>

<p> 1 company or affiliate would not impose additional costs
 2 upon subscribers of telephone exchange service.  The Com-
 3 mission shall provide notice and opportunity for public
 4 comment with respect to any request for a waiver persu-
 5 ant to this subsection.  The provision of any service author-
 6 ized pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to all of
 7 the other provisions of this Act, including title IV and the
 8 requirements of this subsection.</p>

<p> 9   "(d) SEPARATE SUBSIDIARY--</p>

<p>10  "(1) GENERALLY-- Except as provided in sub-
11   section (e), a divested operating company or affiliate
12   thereof may provide information services only
13   through a subsidiary that is separated from the tele-
14   phone exchange service operations of the divested
15   company, in accordance with the requirements of
16   this subsection and the regualations prescribed by the
17   Commission to carry out this subsection.</p>

<p>18  "(2) MINIMUM NUMBER OF OUTSIDE DIREC-
19   TORS-- Any subsidiary required by this subsection
20   shall have a board of directors not less than 33 per-
21   cent of whom are not employees, officers, or direc-
22   tors of any divested operating company or any affili-
23   ate of such company.</p>

<p>24  "(3) TRANSACTION REQUIREMENTS-- Any
25   transaction between any divested operating company</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 16 of 35]</p>

<p> 1   and any other affiliate of such company (including
 2   the subsidiary required by this subsection)--</p>

<p> 3   "(A) shall not be based upon any pref-
 4  erence or discrimination arising out of affili-
 5  ation;</p>

<p> 6   "(B) shall be carried out in the same man-
 7  ner as such company or affiliate conducts such
 8  business with unaffiliated persons;</p>

<p> 9   "(C) shall be pursuant to contract or tariff
10  reported to the Commission and made available
11  for public inspection;</p>

<p>12   "(D) shall be fully auditable and reflect all
13  costs associated with the conduct of such busi-
14  ness; and</p>

<p>15   "(E) shall not have the effect of permitting
16  any violation of the requirements of subsection
17  (f) of this section.</p>

<p>18  "(4) SEPERATE OPERATION AND PROPERTY--
19   A subsidiary required by this subsection may not--</p>

<p>20   "(A) enter into any joint venture or part-
21  nership with the divested operating company;</p>

<p>22   "(B) have employees or a financial struc-
23  ture (other than as provided in this section) in
24  common with the divested operating company;</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 17 of 35]</p>

<p>1   "(C) own any property in common with a
2  divested operating company; or</p>

<p>3   "(D) establish any other subsidiary or af-
4  filiate except after notice to the Commission in
5  such form and containing such information as
6  the Commission may require.</p>

<p>7  "(5) SEPARATE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES-- A
8   subsidiary required by this subsection shall carry out
9   directly it's own marketing, sales, accounting, hiring
 10   and training of personnel, purchasing, and mainte-
 11   nance.</p>

<p> 12  "(6) BOOKS, RECORDS, AND REPORTS-- Any
 13   subsidiary required by this subsection shall--</p>

<p> 14   "(A) maintain books, records, and ac-
 15  counts in a manner prescribed by the Commis-
 16  sion which shall be seperate from the books,
 17  records, and accounts maintained by the di-
 18  vested operating company and the other affili-
 19  ates of the divested operating company, and
 20  which shall identify any conduct of business
 21  with such company and any such affiliates; and</p>

<p> 22   "(B) prepare it's own financial statements
 23  (including balance sheets and the related state-
 24  ments of operations, stockholders' equity, and
 25  cash flows) that are not consolidated with the</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 18 of 35]</p>

<p>1  financial statements of the divested operating
2  company and any other affiliate of such com-
3  pany; and</p>

<p>4   "(C) prepare and file with the Commission,
5  whether or not such subsidiary is publicly trad-
6  ed, the annual and periodic reports required of
7  publicly traded companies by the Securities and
8  Exchange Commission.</p>

<p>9  "(7) ADVERTISING-- A subsidiary required by
 10   this subsection may not carry out advertising with
 11   the divested operating company, except that such
 12   subsidiary may carry out institutional advertising
 13   with such company if (A) such advertising does not
 14   specifically relate to any service, and (B) the sub-
 15   sidiary and the divested operating comapany share
 16   any costs of such advertising in proportion to their
 17   revenue.</p>

<p> 18  "(8) SECURITIES INFORMATION-- A subsidiary
 19   required by this subsection shall submit to the Com-
 20   mission a copy of any statement or prospectus that
 21   such subsidiary is required to file with the Securities
 22   and Exchange Commission.</p>

<p> 23  "(9) OUTSIDE OWNERSHIP-- A divested operat-
 24   ing company or an affiliate thereof may not own
 25   more than 90 percent of any class of outstanding</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 19 of 35]</p>

<p>1   capital stock of any affiliated subsidiary required by
2   this subsection.</p>

<p>3  "(10) TRANSMISSION CAPACITY-- A seperate
4   subsidiary required by this subsection may not own
5   any transmission facilities, and may obtain the use
6   of such facilities from an affiliated divested operat-
7   ing company or affiliate thereof only pursuant to
8   tariffs of general applicability.</p>

<p>9  "(11) PRESERVATION OF SEPERATE SUBSIDI-
 10   ARY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANDFATHERED FUNC-
 11   TIONS-- Nothing in this subsection shall be con-
 12   strued to relieve a divested operating company or
 13   any affiliate thereof (or any other local exchange
 14   carrier or affiliate thereof) of any seperate subsidi-
 15   ary requirement imposed before October 1, 1991.</p>

<p> 16  "(12) PROVISION OF SERVICES AND INFORMA-
 17   TION-- A divested operating company may not pro-
 18   vide any services or information to a subsidiary re-
 19   quired by this subsection unless such services or in-
 20   formation are made available to others on the same
 21   terms and conditions.</p>

<p> 22   "(e) EXCEPTION TO SEPERATE SUBSIDIARY RE-
 23 QUIREMENT-- A divested operating company or affiliate
 24 thereof shall not be required to establish a subsidiary pur-
 25 suant to subsection (d) with respect to any information</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 20 of 35]</p>

<p>1 service provided by such company or affiliate on or before
2 October 1, 1991.</p>

<p>3   "(f) PREVENTION OF CROSS-SUBSIDIARIES--</p>

<p>4  "(1) COST ALLOCATION SYSTEM REQUIRED--
5   Any divested operating company that provides infor-
6   mation services, or which has an affiliate that is en-
7   gaged in the provision of such services, shall estab-
8   lish and administer, in accordance with the require-
9   ments of this subsection and the regulations pre-
 10   scribed thereunder, a cost allocation system that, to-
 11   gether with the subsidiary requirements of sub-
 12   section (d), is intended to prohibit any cost of pro-
 13   viding such services from being subsidized by reve-
 14   nue from telephone exchange service or telephone ex-
 15   change access services.</p>

<p> 16  "(2) COST ASSIGNMENT AND ALLOCATION REG-
 17   ULATIONS--</p>

<p> 18   "(A) GENERALLY-- The Commission shall
 19  establish regulations to require the just and
 20  reasonable assignment and allocation of all
 21  costs that are in any way incurred by a divested
 22  operating company or any affiliate thereof in
 23  the provision of any information service.</p>

<p> 24   "(B) JOINT AND COMMON COSTS-- The
 25  regulations adopted pursuant to this paragraph</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 21 of 35]</p>

<p>1  shall include a requirement that any costs of
2  any investment or other expenditure that can-
3  not be allocated based upon direct or indirect
4  measures of cost causation shall be allocated to
5  unregulated services--</p>

<p>6    "(i) under a formula that ensures that
7    the rates for telephone exchange service
8    are no greater than they would have been
9    in the absence of such investment (taking
 10    into account any decline in the real costs
 11    of providing such service), or</p>

<p> 12    "(ii) based upon the highest forecast
 13    unregulated usage of the investment over
 14    the life of the investment,</p>

<p> 15  whichever method results in the lesser allocation
 16  of such costs to telephone exchange service.</p>

<p> 17  "(3) INSULATION OF RATEPAYERS--</p>

<p> 18   "(A) ASSETS-- The Commission shall, by
 19  regulation, ensure that the economic risks asso-
 20  ciated with the provision of information services
 21  by divested operating companies or affiliates
 22  thereof (including any increases in the divested
 23  operating company's cost of capital that occur
 24  as a result of the provision of such services) are
 25  not borne by customers of telephone exchange</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 22 of 35]</p>

<p>1  service in the event of a business loss or failure.
2  Investments or other expenditures assigned to
3  information services shall not be reassigned to
4  telephone exchange service or telephone ex-
5  change access service.</p>

<p>6   "(B) DEBT-- Any divested operating com-
7  pany affiliate--</p>

<p>8    "(i) which is providing information
9    services, and</p>

<p> 10    "(ii) which is required to be or is
 11    structurally seperate from an affiliate en-
 12    gaged in the provision of telephone ex-
 13    change service,</p>

<p> 14  shall not obtain credit under any arrangement
 15  that (I) would permit a creditor, upon default,
 16  to have recourse to the assets of the divested
 17  operating company, or (II) would induce a cred-
 18  itor to rely on the tangible or intangible assets
 19  of the divested operating company in extending
 20  credit.</p>

<p> 21  "(4) TRANSFERS OF ASSETS BETWEEN AFFILI-
 22   ATED COMPANIES-- The Commission shall prescribe
 23   regulations governing the accounting for the transfer
 24   of assets between a divested operating company and
 25   it's affiliates.  Such regulations shall protect the inter-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 23 of 35]</p>

<p>1   ests of ratepayers of telephone exchange service and
2   require such transfer to be conducted by means of
3   a transaction that complies with subsection (d)(3).
4   Such regulations shall require that--</p>

<p>5   "(A) any transfer of assets from such an
6  affiliate to it's affiliated divested operating com-
7  pany be valued at the lesser of net book cost or
8  fair market value; and</p>

<p>9   "(B) any transfer of assets fromm a divested
 10  operating company to it's affiliate be valued at
 11  the greater of net book cost or fair market
 12  value.</p>

<p> 13  "(5) ANNUAL AUTIDING REQUIREMENT--</p>

<p> 14   "(A) AUDIT APPLICABILITY AND PUR-
 15  POSE-- Each divested operating company that
 16  engages in, or has an affiliate that engages in,
 17  or has a financial or management interest in an
 18  orginization or entity that provides information
 19  services, shall provide annually to the Commis-
 20  sion, and to the State Commission of each State
 21  within which such company provides telephone
 22  exchange service, a report on the results of an
 23  audit by an independant auditor conducted for
 24  the purpose of determining wether the com-
 25  pany has--</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 24 of 35]</p>

<p>1    "(i) established and administered a
2    cost allocation system as required by para-
3    graph (1) of this subsection, and</p>

<p>4    "(ii) complied with the cost assign-
5    ment and allocation regulations prescribed
6    under this subsection.</p>

<p>7   "(B) CONDUIT OF AUDIT-- Such audit
8  shall be conducted, at divested operating com-
9  pany expense, in accordance with audit proce-
 10  dures prescribed by the Commission, by regula-
 11  tion, which shall include approval of auditor se-
 12  lection by the Commission and rotation of audi-
 13  tors or other procedures to ensure the inde-
 14  pendence of such auditor.</p>

<p> 15   "(C) SUBMISSION OF AUDIT RESULTS;
 16  CERTIFICATION-- The divested operating com-
 17  pany shall submit the audit to the Commission,
 18  which shall make the audit report available for
 19  public inspection.  Such report shall be certified
 20  by the person conducting the audit and by an
 21  appropriate officer of such affiliate and shall
 22  identify with particularity any qualifications or
 23  limitations on such certification and any other
 24  information relevant to the enforcement of the
 25  requirements of this section.</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 25 of 35]</p>

<p>1   "(D) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS-- For pur-
2  poses of conducting and reviewing such audit--</p>

<p>3    "(i) the auditor, the Commission, and
4    a State commission with jurisdiction over
5    the divested operating company shall have
6    access to the accounts and records of the
7    divested operating company and to those
8    accounts and records of any of it's affiliates
9    necessary to verify transactions conducted
 10    with the divested operating company; and</p>

<p> 11    "(ii) the Commission and a State
 12    commission shall have access to the work-
 13    ing papers and supporting materials of any
 14    auditor who performs an audit under this
 15    paragraph.</p>

<p> 16   "(g) RECOVERY OF USE OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS--
 17 The Commission and a State commission shall, within
 18 their respective jurisdictions, require a divested operating
 19 company to assess any affiliate providing information
 20 services a charge for the reasonable vvalue of any intangible
 21 assets used in the provision of information services, and
 22 to credit the amount of such charge to the provision of
 23 telephone exchange service.</p>

<p> 24   "(h) REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO COMPETITIVE
 25 ENTRY-- A divested operating company or affiliate there-</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 26 of 35]</p>

<p>1 of may not provide electronic publishing services, other
2 than those it provided on or before October 1, 1991, in
3 any State in which such company or affiliate provides tele-
4 phone exchange service, unless and untill all entry barriers
5 to the competitive provision of telecommunications services
6 imposed by each State or State commission in which such
7 company or affiliate provides telephone exchange service
8 have been removed with respect to such company or affili-
9 ate.</p>

<p> 10   "(i) PROVISION OF GATEWAY SERVICES-- Any di-
 11 vested operating company or affiliate thereof that offers
 12 a gateway service shall make such service available concurr-
 13 ently to all it's subscribers at the same rates, terms,
 14 and conditions.</p>

<p> 15   "(j) ENFORCEMENT-- A person who is injured by a
 16 violation of any of the requirements of this section may,
 17 in lieu of filing a complaint under section 208, commence
 18 in a civil action for injunctive relief and monetary damages
 19 in any Federal judicial district in which the defendant re-
 20 sides or has an agent.  A residential customer of telephone
 21 exchange service shall have standing to commence an ac-
 22 tion under this section, without regard to the amount in
 23 controversy.  In any action brought under this section, the
 24 court may award the costs of litigation (including reson-
 25 able attorneys fees).</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 27 of 35]</p>

<p>1   "(k) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY-- In addition to any
2 other authority which the Commission may exercise under
3 this Act, the Commission shall take such actions as are
4 necessary--</p>

<p>5  "(1) to prevent anticompetitive practicces be-
6   tween a divested operating company and any affili-
7   ate of the divested operating company;</p>

<p>8  "(2) to protect ratepayers of divested operating
9   companies from subsidizing the provision of informa-
 10   tion services by such companies or their affiliates;</p>

<p> 11  "(3) to prevent any divested operating company
 12   or any affiliate thereof fromm imposing any unjust or
 13   unreasonable rates or charges for any common car-
 14   ier services that are provided in connection with the
 15   provision of information services.</p>

<p> 16   "(m) DEFINITIONS-- As used in this section--</p>

<p> 17  "(1) AFFILIATE-- The term 'affiliate' means
 18   any organization or entity that, directly or indirectly,
 19   owns or controls, or is owned or controlled by, or is
 20   under common ownership or control with, a divested
 21   operating company.  For purposes of this paragraph,
 22   the terms 'own', 'owned', and 'ownership' means a di-
 23   rect or indirect equity interest (or equivalent there-
 24   of) of more than 10 percent of an organization or
 25   entity, or the right to more than 10 percent of the</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 28 of 35]</p>

<p>1   gross revenues of an organization or entity under a
2   revenue sharing or royalty agreement.</p>

<p>3  "(3) DIVESTED OPERATING COMPANY-- The
4   term 'divested operating company'--</p>

<p>5   "(A) means any of the following compa-
6  nies: Bell Telephone Company of Nevada, Illi-
7  nois Bell Telephone Company, Indiana Bell
8  Telephone Company, Incorporated, Michigan
9  Bell Telephone Company, New England Tele-
 10  phone and Telegraph Company, New Jersey
 11  Bell Telephone Company, New York Telephone
 12  Company, US West Communications Company,
 13  South Central Bell Telephone Company, South-
 14  ern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company,
 15  Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, the
 16  Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, the
 17  Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company,
 18  the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Com-
 19  pany of Maryland, the Chesapeake and Poto-
 20  mac Telephone Company of Virginia, the
 21  Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company
 22  of West Virginia, the Diamond State Telephone
 23  Company, the Ohio Bell Telephone Company,
 24  the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company,
 25  and Wisconsin Telephone Company; and</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 29 of 35]</p>

<p>1   "(B) includes any successor or assign of
2  any such company, but does not include any af-
3  filiate of such company.</p>

<p>4  "(3) GATEWAY SERVICE-- The term 'gateway
5   service' means an information service that, at the re-
6   quest of the provider of an electronic publishing
7   service or other information service, provides a sub-
8   scriber with access to such electronic publishing
9   service or other information service, utilizing the fol-
 10   lowing functions: data transmission, address trans-
 11   lation, billing information, protocol conversion, and
 12   introductory information content."</p>

<p> 13 SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</p>

<p> 14   "(a) AMENDMENT-- Section 6 of the Communica-
 15 tions Act of 1934 is amended by adding at the end thereof
 16 the following new subsection:</p>

<p> 17   "(d) SEPERATE SUBSIDIARY REQUIREMENTS-- Such
 18 sums as may be necessary are authorized to be appro-
 19 priated for the implementation and enforcement of the re-
 20 quirements of section 208(c) and 227 of this Act.  Such
 21 funds shall be in addition to any appropriations authorized
 22 under subsection (a)."</p>

<p> 23   "(b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION SERVICES-- A di-
 24 vested operating company or an affiliate thereof may not
 25 provide information services until enactment of the</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 30 of 35]</p>

<p>1 initial appropriation of funds authorized under section
2 6(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by sec-
3 tion 202(a) of this Act.</p>

<p>4  TITLE III -- MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
5 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS</p>

<p>6   Section 3 of the Communicatins Act of 1934 is
7 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
8 subsections:</p>

<p>9   "(hh) 'Electronic publishing service' means the provi-
 10 sion of any information--</p>

<p> 11  "(1)(A) that the provider or publisher has (or
 12   has caused to be) authored, originated, gathered,
 13   collected, produced, compiled, edited, categorized, or
 14   indexed; or</p>

<p> 15  "(B) in which the provider or publisher has a
 16   direct or indirect financial or proprietary interest;
 17   and</p>

<p> 18  "(2) which is disseminated to an unaffiliated
 19   person through some electronic means.</p>

<p> 20   "(ii) 'Information services' means the offering of a
 21 capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming,
 22 processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available infor-
 23 mation that may be conveyed via telecommunications, and
 24 includes electronic publishing, but does not include any
 25 use of any such capability for the management, control,</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 31 of 35]</p>

<p>1 or operation of a telecommunications service or the man-
2 agement of a telecommunications service.</p>

<p>3   "(jj) 'Local exchange carrier' means a provider of
4 telephone exchange service that is classified by the Com-
5 mission as a dominant carrier.</p>

<p>6   "(kk) 'Rural exchange carrier' means menas a local ex-
7 change carrier serving a total of 50000 or fewer access
8 lines.</p>

<p>9   "(ll) 'Telecommunications' means the transmission,
 10 between or among points specified by the customer, of in-
 11 formation of the customer's choosing, without change in
 12 the form or content of the information as sent and re-
 13 ceived, by means of an electromagnetic transmission me-
 14 dium, including all instrumentalities, facilities, apparatus,
 15 and services (including the collection, storage, forwarding,
 16 switching, and delivery of such information) essential to
 17 such transmission.</p>

<p> 18   "(mm) 'Telecommunications service' means the pub-
 19 lic or private offering for hire of telecommunications facili-
 20 ties."</p>

<p> 22 SEC. 302. JURISDICTION</p>

<p> 23   Section 2 of the Communications Act of 1934 is
 24 amended--</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 32 of 35]</p>

<p>1  (1) in subsection (b), by striking out "223 or
2   224" and inserting "223, 224, 225, and 227"; and</p>

<p>3  (2) by adding at the end the thereof the following
4   new subsection:</p>

<p>5  "(c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a State may
6   not regulate the rates, terms, or conditions for the offering
7   of information service, except as provided in this sub-
8   section and title IV.</p>

<p>9  "(2) A State may impose regulations upon a local ex-
 10   change carrier with respect to the intrastate provision of
 11   information services by such carrier or an affiliate thereof
 12   if--</p>

<p> 13   "(A) such regulations are necessary and appro-
 14  priate to seperate the provision of such services from
 15  the provision of telephone exchange services by such
 16  carrier or affiliate;</p>

<p> 17   "(B) such regulations are intended to protect
 18  the privacy rights of customers of telephone ex-
 19  change services;</p>

<p> 20   "(C) such regulations do not affect the rates,
 21  terms, or conditions for the provision of such infor-
 22  mations services or the types of such services offered
 23  by such carrier or affiliate; and</p>

<p> 24   "(D) such regulations are not inconsistent with
 25  the purposes of this Act or impede signifigantly the</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 33 of 35]</p>

<p>1  enforcement of this Act or any regulation or order
2  prescribed by the Commission pursuant to the
3  Act."</p>

<p>4 SEC. 303. TELEPHONE EXCHANGE SERVICE IN RURAL
5   AREAS</p>

<p>6   Nothing in the amendments made by this Act shall
7 be construed to limit the authority of the States to take
8 actions, consistant with the findings and purposes of that
9 Act, to ensure thae availability of telephone exchange serv-
 10 ice at resonable rates in areas served by rural exchange
 11 carriers (as such term is defined in section 3(kk) of the
 12 Communications Act of 1934).</p>

<p> 13 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS OF COM-
 14   MUNICATIONS ACT</p>

<p> 15   Nothing in the amendments made by this Act shall
 16 be construed to relieve a divested operating company or
 17 affiliate thereof (as such terms are defined in section
 18 227(m) of the Communications Act of 1934) of any of
 19 the obligations, limitations, or responsibilities imposed by
 20 any other provision of the Communications Act of 1934,
 21 as amended.</p>

<p> 22 SEC. 305. APPLICABILITY OF ANTITRUST LAWS</p>

<p> 23   (a) APPLICABILITY OF THE MODIFICATION OF FINAL
 24 JUDGEMENT-- A divested operating company shall remain
 25 fully suubject to the Modification of Final Judgement in all</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 34 of 35]</p>

<p>1 respects except as expressly provided in the amendments
2 made by this Act.</p>

<p>3   (b) NO ANTITRUST IMMUNITY-- Nothing in the
4 amendments made by this Act shall be construed to create
5 any immunity to any civil or criminal action under any
6 Federal or State antitrust law, or to alter or restrict in
7 any manner the applicability of any Federal or State anti-
8 trust law to the actions of a divested operating company
9 or affiliate thereof (as such terms are defined in section
 10 227(m) of the Communications Act of 1934).</p>

<p> 11   (c) DEFINITIONS-- For purposes of this section--</p>

<p> 12  (1) FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS-- The term
 13   'Federal antitrust laws' means --</p>

<p> 14   (A) the acts as cited in section 1 of the Clay-
 15  ton Act (15 USC 12),</p>

<p> 16   (B) section 5 of the Federal Trade Com-
 17  mission Act (15 USC 45); and</p>

<p> 18   (C) any law enacted after the datr of en-
 19  actment of this Act by the Congress which pro-
 20  hibits, or makes available to the United States
 21  or to any person in any court of the United
 22  States any civil remedy with respect to, any re-
 23  restraint upon, or monopolization of, interstate or
 24  foreign trade or commerce.</p>

<p>H.R. 3515  102nd Congress, 1st Session   [Page 35 of 35]</p>

<p>1  (2) MODIFICATION OF FINAL JUDGMENT -- The
2   term 'Modification of final judgment' means the
3   order entered August 24, 1982, in United States -vs-
4   Western Electric Co., Civil Action No. 82-0192
5   (United States District Court, District of Columbia)</p>

<p>[END]

</p></xml>