Ed Markey: “Mr. Chairman, we have two choices in this bill. The whole notion of an open architecture cyberspace-based competition is…”

“Mr. Chairman, we have two choices in this bill. The whole notion of an open architecture cyberspace-based competition is undermined by what has happened between the full committee and the manager's amendment. What we had determined at the full committee was that if, in fact, the telephone company used common carrier facilities in order to build their cable network, that it would have to have an open architecture, so that any provider of information, any 18-year-old kid, any producer, would be able to use this common carrier network in order to get their ideas into every home. Mr. Chairman, that was in contrast to the old cable model where if the telephone company built another cable system, but under design of the cable companies of the past, then they would be regulated like a cable company, get a franchise. This bill takes that open architecture concept, throws it out the window. We must go back to that if we are going to enjoy the full benefits of this information revolution.”