World Surveillance Group Inc (fka WSGI)

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Senate Committee Approves Telecom Bill

The US Senate Commerce Committee approved a comprehensive telecom bill that would give AT&T and Verizon Communications an easier path to rolling out IPTV services to compete with cable operators by essentially granting a nationwide franchise, bypassing state and local franchise considerations. The vote was 15 to 7. Several amendments to the bill were killed in panel but threaten to imperil passage of the bill by the full Senate. An amendment introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) would have ensured that the telecoms would offer their new video service to all parts of a community within a certain time period, not just to more affluent neighborhoods. The amendment was defeated 12 to 10. A Net Neutrality amendment was defeated 11 to 11, ensuring a contentious debate on the Senate floor. There is no guarantee that the bill as written will be passed by the full Senate when it gets to the floor in September due to the Net Neutrality issue as well as the apparent favoring of the telecoms over all other competitors. Even if the Senate does approve a communications bill, there is relatively little time to reconcile the bill with the one passed by the House of Representatives, which is much narrower, before the November election.

from Telecom Daily

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