The FCC report said roughly 7.1 million U.S. households and businesses had access to high speed Internet connections at the end of last year, an increase of 63 percent in six months.

The Baby Bells are pushing for passage of a bill that would provide critical exemptions from the 1996 Telecommunications Act, claiming that federal regulations toward digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband delivered over phone lines -- a distant second in total numbers to cable modems -- discriminate against them.

Bell competitors say the act is working well without any changes.

"The only reason DSL is behind cable actually is because [the Bells] were very slow to roll out DSL -- I don't care what they say," American Internet Service Providers Association spokesperson Sue Ashdown told NewsFactor Network. "When cable rolled out, they were forced to respond to the competitive threat, and respond they did. The FCC study clearly shows that."

The slow and mistake-prone deployment of high-speed Internet access in the U.S. is one of the most hotly contested issues of the Internet economy, with millions of dollars of lobbying money being spent by both sides.

Shape of Industry at Stake

The Internet Freedom and Broadband bill (H.R. 1542) that is supported by the Baby Bells is scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives in September. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted in favor of the bill in May.

The bill's passage would mean that the four Bell companies that dominate local telephone service nationally would no longer be forced to unbundle their local loop and open remote terminals, a requirement that the companies claim is preventing them from deploying high-speed Internet access nationwide.

The bill's proponents say the FCC report backs up their claim that broadband deployment is being slowed by unfair regulations. Supporters also say that the legislation, which is sponsored by Billy Tauzin (R-Louisiana) and John Dingell (D-Michigan), would prevent a cable monopoly in the broadband industry, and spur the sluggish economy by inducing faster broadband rollout through more fair competition.

Additionally, backers claim that the bill would level the regulatory playing field so that rivals would compete on price and service, and not on which industry has the regulatory advantage or disadvantage.

Regulations Unfair? (continued...)

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