THE STATUS OF DEPLOYMENT OF DATA SERVICES HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION APRIL 11, 2000 Serial No. 106±128 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 64±024CC WASHINGTON : 2000 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:10 Oct 12, 2000 Jkt 066902 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HEARINGS\64024 pfrm02 PsN: 64024 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:10 Oct 12, 2000 Jkt 066902 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HEARINGS\64024 pfrm02 PsN: 64024 COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE TOM BLILEY, Virginia, Chairman W.J. ``BILLY'' TAUZIN, Louisiana JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio HENRY A. WAXMAN, California MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts JOE BARTON, Texas RALPH M. HALL, Texas FRED UPTON, Michigan RICK BOUCHER, Virginia CLIFF STEARNS, Florida EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey Vice Chairman SHERROD BROWN, Ohio JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania BART GORDON, Tennessee CHRISTOPHER COX, California PETER DEUTSCH, Florida NATHAN DEAL, Georgia BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma ANNA G. ESHOO, California RICHARD BURR, North Carolina RON KLINK, Pennsylvania BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California BART STUPAK, Michigan ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York GREG GANSKE, Iowa TOM SAWYER, Ohio CHARLIE NORWOOD, Georgia ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland TOM A. COBURN, Oklahoma GENE GREEN, Texas RICK LAZIO, New York KAREN MCCARTHY, Missouri BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming TED STRICKLAND, Ohio JAMES E. ROGAN, California DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico BILL LUTHER, Minnesota JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona LOIS CAPPS, California CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING, Mississippi VITO FOSSELLA, New York ROY BLUNT, Missouri ED BRYANT, Tennessee ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland JAMES E. DERDERIAN, Chief of Staff JAMES D. BARNETTE, General Counsel REID P.F. STUNTZ, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION W.J. ``BILLY'' TAUZIN, Louisiana, Chairman MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio, EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts Vice Chairman RICK BOUCHER, Virginia CLIFF STEARNS, Florida BART GORDON, Tennessee PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois CHRISTOPHER COX, California ANNA G. ESHOO, California NATHAN DEAL, Georgia ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming BILL LUTHER, Minnesota JAMES E. ROGAN, California RON KLINK, Pennsylvania JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois TOM SAWYER, Ohio HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico GENE GREEN, Texas CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING, KAREN MCCARTHY, Missouri Mississippi JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, VITO FOSSELLA, New York (Ex Officio) ROY BLUNT, Missouri ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland TOM BLILEY, Virginia, (Ex Officio) (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:10 Oct 12, 2000 Jkt 066902 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 0486 E:\HEARINGS\64024 pfrm02 PsN: 64024 C O N T E N T S Page Testimony of: Allely, Eric, Founder and Owner, Tekamah Corporation ............................. 31 Asnes, Anthony K., President, Pseudo Programs .......................................... 14 Campbell Ray A., III, Executive Director, Mass Corporation for Edu- cational Telecommunications ....................................................................... 44 Harter, Peter F., Vice President, Global Public Policy and Standards, Emusic.com .................................................................................................... 22 Kushner, David, Chairman, Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children's National Medical Center .............................................................................. 48 Linkous, Jonathan D., Executive Director, American Telemedicine Asso- ciation ............................................................................................................ 37 Vuckovich, Gene, Executive Director, Montana Rural Development Part- nership ........................................................................................................... 40 (III) 2 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:10 Oct 12, 2000 Jkt 066902 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HEARINGS\64024 pfrm02 PsN: 64024 THE STATUS OF DEPLOYMENT OF DATA SERVICES TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2000 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin (chairman) presiding. Members present: Representatives Tauzin, Stearns, Gillmor, Largent, Cubin, Shimkus, Fossella, Blunt, Markey, Gordon, Rush, Eshoo, Luther, Sawyer, Green, McCarthy, and Dingell (ex officio). Staff present: Mike O'Rielly, professional staff; Cliff Riccio, legis- lative analyst; and Andy Levin, minority counsel. Mr. TAUZIN. The hearing will please come to order. Good morn- ing and welcome. Today we embark upon a series of hearings on the Internet infra- structure and its impact on how Americans will participate in the new digital economy, both at work and at home. This is not the fireworks hearing. This is not the clash of the carriers. We term this hearing, the hearing on the need for speed. My staff pointed out that when we were growing up, the theme was that speed kills, and today we find out that the lack of speed may kill. So today we embark upon a series of hearings to discover what is broadband and what it means in our lives and what it could mean in our lives if, in fact, everyone has access to it. There is no denying the fact that the Internet has become an in- tegral part of everyday life for nearly two thirds of all Americans. We rely on it as a primary means of communications, as a conven- ient tool for doing business and as a rich source of content such as news, music and other important information. Since the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act, however we have come to understand that the Internet uses an architecture that is, in a large part, separate from the telephone network. The FCC has determined that the Internet is operationally and technologically distinct from plain old telephone or cable service, even though data traffic can pass through some of these same infrastructures. Most importantly, this new and distinct Internet architecture has facilitated the emergence of new broadband capacity networks, the likes of which we have never before witnessed. Broadband net- works can carry much more voice, much more data traffic than nar- row band systems can carry. They can also deliver such traffic at (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:10 Oct 12, 2000 Jkt 066902 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HEARINGS\64024 pfrm02 PsN: 64024 2 much faster speeds than narrow band lines. This essentially means that digital convergence is a realistic possibility for some time in the near future. It will soon be technologically possible for resi- dences and businesses to receive telephone service, ISP services, digital television service and streamed audio and visual content over one line with no service disruptions or delays. That is pretty exciting. Make no mistake about that. However, before we get too carried away with all this, we in Con- gress have an obligation to ensure that all Americans will have ac- cess to these digitally converged high speed services via broadband networks. Such access is crucial for many rural and underserved areas of this country to develop in step with the thriving urban hubs that are driving this Internet economy. In 1995 when we were crafting the Telecommunications Act, we all knew what that saying was, that speed kills. Today, it is clear that with the lack of access, the high speed networks may, in fact, kill, may destroy opportunity, may deny businesses and individuals success and prosperity in their lives. If businesses and residences don't have high speed connections to the Internet backbone, they are relegated to narrow band dirt road, and narrow band dirt roads are so incompatible with the rest of the high speed infrastructure that promises to significantly impede the flow of communications across our Nation's web-based infrastructures. Let me explain. If certain regions of our country, are crawling at narrow band dial up access, if they are crawling at this slow speed while other areas of the country are utilizing high speed infrastruc- ture, then everyone on the web will be forced at times to operate at narrow band slower speed. If I am connected to you, I am at high speed and you are at lower speed, I am at your speed. It is that simple. And under this scenario, the Internet cannot mate- rialize into the fluid nationwide communications network that all of us are hoping it will be. Instead, ISP subscribers will continue to encounter service disruptions and data transfer delays in every instance where broadband-facilitated high speed traffic is thrust upon narrow band slower speed infrastructure. Last October in an article published by the Associated Press, John Robbs, CEO of Nortel Networks, estimated that in 1998, 2.5 billion hours were wasted on line as people waited for Web pages to download. But this worldwide wait is only customary in certain parts of the country. Connections to the Internet backbone vary significantly between Houma, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, Dodgeville and Detroit, Brockton and Boston, Wichita and Wash- ington or Muleshoe and Miami. Now in order to have speed, American