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Telecom Bill Overcomes First Hurdle
The push for telecommunications reform passed its first test in the House when an Energy and Commerce subcommittee that oversees telecom issues approved the bill that has dominated debate for two weeks. The vote was 27-4.
Lawmakers focused on two big issues of discrimination: "redlining" and "network neutrality."
Redlining refers to the practice of offering services in select areas based on income -- in this case, video services. Network neutrality describes efforts to keep top telecom and cable companies from charging competitors more to distribute certain high-speed Internet content.
The panel rejected Democratic-sponsored amendments on both issues.
Other tech-related news this week involved the privacy of taxpayer data, the right to gamble online and the growth of tech "pork" in the federal budget. Listen to the podcast for the details.
Posted by Technology Daily on April 7, 2006 11:19 AM | Permalink
