A bill that would all but eliminate state regulation of land line telephone services sailed through its second Senate committee Tuesday, receiving a unanimous vote.
Senators on the Commerce and Tourism Committee overlooked objections from AARP and approved a bill that supporters claim will help spur competition and investment in the telecommunications industry and lead to the creation of jobs.
The fact of it is, that competition is good, said Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, who is sponsoring the bill. He also called the lingering regulations of land lines archaic and promised to clear the last vestiges of telecom regulations from the state.
Senate Bill 1524 removes the Florida Public Service Commissions price regulation authority, as well as its ability to arbitrate consumer complaints. The bill does maintain the PSCs role in resolving disputes among companies and wholesale providers.
Telecom companies and deregulation advocates noted that the regulations impose an unfair playing ground for those offering land line services, because other cable and Internet companies that arent hampered by those regulations can offer similar voice services.
Michelle Robinson, president of Verizon Florida, said her company had lost half of its customers in the state in recent years to companies that were unregulated.
Because other companies can package their services, which now can include video and voice applications, many customers are moving away from simple land line services for the wide array of telecommunication options.
Today youre seeing a mass exodus where people are dropping their land line service for mobile phone service, said Melia Carter of the Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide, a group that advocates for digital access for low-income areas.
Land line service companies are therefore putting investment capital into an obsolete technology in order to comply with state regulations, which could be better used if put toward competing in 21st century technologies and creating new innovations.
Ultimately, the best way to provide lower voice prices is to allow the migration to broadband, said Hance Haney, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and a telecom deregulation advocate.
Haney also dismissed the notion that the proposed takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T will not reduce competition in Florida and lead to an increase of prices if land lines are deregulated, stating that regional competitors will fill the gap and create the atmosphere of free-market competition that will spur the economy.
The AT&T-T-Mobile merger was announced last week and is awaiting the approval of federal regulators.
Those opposed to the bill contend some low-income and elderly citizens still want their land line phones, and therefore the industry needs to be regulated to ensure that prices are affordable.
There are basic land line customers who dont want or dont need other services, said AARP representative Jack McCray.
But Simmons noted that AARP offers wireless services to its members, as well as mobile devices with larger buttons and louder volume to cater to elderly citizens.
To suggest that having regulation is necessary is just simply incorrect, Simmons said.
The bill now moves to the Budget Committee in the Senate. An identical version will get its second committee hearing in the House next week.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
