State House bill aims to update telecommunications law

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A bill passed in the Michigan House on Tuesday could give Michigan a competitive edge in the telecommunication industry.

This bill, introduced by state Rep. Ken Horn, R-Frankenmuth, chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee, amends a current state telecommunication bill entitled the Michigan Telecommunications Act.

Under the current telecommunications act, Horn said traditional telephone landline providers have to report multiple pages of information to the MI Public Service Commission in addition to the reports they are required to provide to the Federal Communications Commission. Horn’s bill eliminates this duplicity in reporting.

Horn said about 100,000 landlines disappear from households every quarter. But despite citizens’ move away from the use of these landlines toward increased use of wireless and voice over Internet protocol services, landlines in Michigan still are bound by the most regulation.

“The provider of the landlines are at a huge disadvantage to the wireless and voice over Internet protocol (services) because they are so regulated by Michigan and have to follow our rules,” Horn said.

The objective of the bill was to create an equal playing field, Horn said. With such up-to-date regulatory policy, he said service providers will be more interested in doing business in state.

“It will be better for them to do business in Michigan than any other state when this passes,” Horn said. “And the natural extension of that is that more jobs will be provided here as a result.”

The bill also removes outdated service quality requirements, Horn said, as well as eliminates the requirement that providers deliver a telephone book to every household they service. Providers only are required to supply such a directory, either in print or electronically, to those that request it. Horn said his committee has received support for this effort in conservation.

Johannes Bauer, an MSU professor of telecommunication, information studies and media, said streamlining and updating the state’s telecommunication policy is a good idea. But one provision in the bill could cause concern among Michigan residents.

Telecommunication providers currently are able to discontinue service only if one or more other providers offer a similar service in the area. With this provision, a similar service now could include any two-way voice service capable of receiving calls, offered through varying forms of technology, including voice over Internet protocol and wireless services. But Bauer said some residents, including those earning lower incomes and those living in rural areas, as well as those who are unskilled in the use of new technology, are dependent on their hard line telephones. And rural parts of the state may not receive adequate Internet or wireless service to allow for cell phone or Internet communication.

“There could be cases where this provision could provide hardship for some,” Bauer said.
It was for this reason State Rep. Steven Lindberg, D-Marquette, voted against the bill. He worried that with the passing of this bill, residents in his district in the rural Upper Peninsula might not be provided with adequate service.

“The language said that you could remove a hard line only if there was comparable service, but I guess I have a little problem with that language,” he said. “What is comparable service?”

This bill now must be discussed in the state Senate, where Horn said he expects it will be received well and pass in a few weeks.

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