Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1981

Summary

Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1981 - Title I: General - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to declare that such Act applies to, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has jurisdiction over: (1) all interexchange and foreign telecommunications and all radio transmissions originating or received within the United States; (2) the licensing and regulating of all radio stations; and (3) all persons engaged in such telecommunications or radio transmissions within the United States. Title II: Domestic Telecommunications - Directs the FCC to establish a transition plan to foster marketplace competition and to implement deregulation for interexchange telecommunications services, equipment, and carriers. Requires such plan to: (1) classify common carriers; (2) establish and implement an accounting system; (3) provide a procedure for the formation of fully separated affiliates and to monitor compliance; and (4) provide for practices and procedures for exchange access charges and a Universal Service Pool in substitution for existing arrangements. Directs the FCC to revise, reduce, or eliminate rules with respect to telecommunication services or carriers operating in a competitive market. Grants the FCC continuing authority over the provision of regulated telecommunications services and carriers. Authorizes FCC regulation to: (1) deal with anticompetitive practices between any fully separated affiliate and the dominant-regulated carriers or their affiliates; and (2) protect users of telecommunications services in connection with dealings between any dominant- regulated carrier, its affiliates, and any fully separated affiliate. Permits management personnel of any dominant-regulated carrier to direct operations of such carrier, any affiliate, and any fully separated affiliate as long as the costs of such direction are properly allocated. Directs the FCC to assure that the amendments made by this Act do not result in unreasonable charges for basic telephone service. Prohibits the FCC from preventing or limiting, except in specified cases, the use of any technology or improvement for telecommunications services. Denies the FCC the authority to include in radio licenses any condition inconsistent with any limitation imposed upon its own authority over domestic telecommunications. Requires the FCC to identify and classify those carriers serving more than 50,000 main and equivalent stations and derive revenue from the provision of basic telephone service as regulated carriers. Classifies the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) as a dominant-regulated carrier. Directs the FCC to classify or reclassify, as a regulated carrier, any carrier which owns or controls telecommunications facilities for which there is no reasonable availably alternative or which provides any other regulated service. Directs the FCC to classify or reclassify, as a dominant-regulated carrier, any regulated carrier which is dominant in the provision of telecommunications services in a substantial percentage of the total number of markets or submarkets for telecommunications services. Prohibits: (1) the FCC or any State commission from regulating the resale of any telecommunications service; (2) any regulated carrier from establishing or enforcing any restrictions on the resale or use of any service provided by such carrier; and (3) any dominant-regulated carrier from engaging in any resale activity except through a fully separated affiliate. Requires the Postal Service to meet specified requirements regarding provision of telecommunications services. Authorizes the FCC to prescribe different requirements for different regulated carriers or to exempt carriers from the requirements of this Act relating to common carriers. Prohibits the FCC from imposing any requirements on unregulated carriers which are not specifically provided in this Act. Makes a regulated carrier liable for injuries to persons caused by violations of this Act. Requires every telecommunications carrier and the Postal Serivce to establish, upon request, interconnection of its regulated service with any: (1) telecommunications carrier; (2) telecommunications facility or private telecommunications system; and (3) customer premises equipment which meets certain standards. Prohibits such carrier from discriminating in an unreasonable or anticompetitive manner with respect to the conditions for interconnection. Requires every telecommunications carrier to make available, upon request, any regulated telecommunications service and to establish tariffs in connection with such service. Makes unjust, unreasonable, or discriminatory tariffs unlawful. Requires telecommunications carriers providing regulated telecommunications services to file with the FCC and publish: (1) the information the FCC needs to fulfill its obligations under this Act; and (2) the tariffs (schedules of charges) for regulated telecommunications services. Prohibits any regulated carrier from: (1) engaging in such services unless the tariffs have been filed and published; (2) charging a fee different from the one specified in such tariff; (3) refunding any portion of the charges so specified; and (4) extending to any person any privileges or enforcing any regulations affecting any charges except as specified in such tariff. Prohibits any new or revised tariff from taking effect until the FCC has accepted it or accepted it with conditions. Provides for public notice and hearings on contested tariffs. Prohibits the FCC and any State commission from considering revenues derived from unregulated activities. Authorizes the FCC to exempt regulated carriers from the provisions relating to: (1) the effective dates of tariffs; and (2) publishing information on fees and practices. Requires every regulated carrier subject to this Act to file with the FCC copies of all contracts or agreements with other carriers relating to regulated telecommunications service. Authorizes the FCC to require or exempt such carriers from filing copies of minor contracts. Authorizes the FCC to appraise any or all of the property owned or used by any regulated carrier and by any regulated exchange carrier which originates, terminates, or transfers interexchange (long distance) or foreign telecommunications. Repeals the provision relating to the Interstate Commerce Commission valuation of such property. Permits non-dominant-regulated carriers, upon notifying the FCC, to construct, acquire, or use new or extended exchange telecommunications facilities. Authorizes the FCC to require such carriers to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity before such construction, acquisition, or operation. Requires dominant-regulated carriers to obtain such a certificate. Permits the FCC to authorize a long-term facilities construction plan for a regulated carrier, rather than requiring such carrier to obtain a separate certification for each element of such plan. Authorizes the FCC to condition or refuse such certification. Authorizes the FCC to require, after opportunity for a hearing, a regulated carrier to extend its facilities for the expeditious and efficient performance of its services. Makes it lawful for telecommunications carriers jointly to meet, plan, and coordinate telecommunications networks under the auspices of the FCC. Provides no exemption for any carrier from the antitrust laws for any action taken by such carrier which is an antitrust violation when taken by a single carrier. Authorizes temporary or emergency augmentations or reductions of facilities without regard to these provisions. Requires any dominant-regulated carrier and its affiliates to: (1) file with the FCC a description of the operational protocols and technical interface requirements for connection with or use of any regulated telecommunications services; and (2) report regularly to the FCC on specified changes and activities. Prohibits disclosure of such information to a fully separated affiliate until filed. Requires such information to be available to the public unless the FCC determines it would be detrimental to national security or emergency preparedness. Requires the FCC to prescribe, and all regulated carriers to comply with, general records guidelines designed to accomplish a complete allocation of revenues and costs between regulated and unregulated goods and services. Requires the FCC to establish: (1) the classes of property used by any regulated carrier which are subject to the FCC's or any State commission's regulatory authority; and (2) the methods by which investments in such classes of property may be recovered. Permits such recovery methods to include capital recovery schedules or percentage depreciation schedules. Requires such methods to include specified provisions. Repeals the forfeiture provision for failure to keep required records. Requires the FCC to establish a Joint Board to ascertain and apportion the costs of providing access to exchange facilities for interexchange services. Requires the FCC to establish uniform practices to ascertain and apportion such costs for comparable types of interconnections. Requires exchange carriers providing exchange access to file with the FCC a tariff governing the charges or to establish the charges for the use of its exchange facilities by any telecommunications carrier, any carrier providing foreign telecommunications services, any affiliate of such carrier, and certain private telecommunications systems. Exempts certain small State-certified exchange carriers from such requirements. Authorizes the use of an averaged cost schedule rather than data from individual cost studies in calculating access charges for such State-certified exchange carriers. Authorizes State commissions to include in such charges any use of the exchange telecommunications facilities which originates or terminates interexchange telecommunications service. Requires the FCC to promulgate standards for such access charges within a specified time. Requires each State commission to establish exchange telecommunications areas within its State. Requires any change in the boundaries of such areas after enactment of this Act to meet specified criteria. Sets forth conditions concerning the relationship of a fully separated affiliate with its dominant-regulated carrier. Prohibits any dominant-regulated carrier and its fully separated affiliates from: (1) conducting business with each other on a discriminatory or preferential basis; (2) owning property jointly or in common, except international telecommunications property; or (3) engaging in any joint sales or marketing except advertising for which each party pays its pro rata share. Deems a dominant-regulated carrier to have established a fully separated affiliate only after the FCC finds that the relationships of such carrier with such affiliate comply with specified requirements. Prohibits a dominant-regulated carrier from disclosing to any fully separated affiliate any commercial information acquired in providing regulated telecommunications services which would provide an unfair competitive advantage. Authorizes the FCC to require specific categories of information to be made generally available. Establishes interim procedures for American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) research, development, and manufacturing activities until AT&T establishes such fully separated affiliates. Requires AT&T to receive FCC approval before offering any telecommunications service or customer premises equipment on an unregulated basis. Requires that the following equipment-related functions and activities, which must be offered exclusively by a fully separated affiliate, be performed by a fully separate affiliate or nonaffiliate by specified dates: (1) final assembly; (2) research and development activity relating to equipment design information used in final assembly or relating to software programming; (3) subassembly within such final assembly; and (4) the manufacture of any basic component within such final assembly. Requires the establishment of an assets evaluation board to determine the value of assets transferred from AT&T to any fully separated affiliate. Permits the FCC to waive such transition schedule if intervening events beyond the control of AT&T render it incapable of compliance. Requires research services and equipment transferred to a fully separated affiliate to be furnished to any fully separated affiliate for a fully compensatory amount not less than the amount charged to nonaffiliates for similar services and equipment. Requires business conducted in connection with such service or equipment to be conducted under terms the same as those between nonaffiliates. Exempts from such requirement any terms for such business which AT&T can demonstrate to the FCC result from more efficient operation and lower direct costs and not from the allocation of common overhead or other similar factors. Prohibits the FCC from establishing requirements inconsistent with this Act which relate to: (1) the structure of any affiliate or fully separated affiliate; (2) activities of a dominant- regulated carrier which this Act requires to be conducted by a fully separated affiliate; or (3) the conduct of business between any dominant-regulated carrier or affiliate and any fully separated affiliate. States that the 1956 consent decree involving AT&T shall not bar AT&T and any affiliates from providing telecommunications service or equipment, customer-premises equipment, or information service so long as unregulated telecommunications service is conducted by fully separated affiliates. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, AT&T or any affiliate of AT&T from providing cable service, mass media service, or mass media product through any facility owned or controlled by AT&T or any affiliate within any area in which AT&T is providing exchange telecommunications service. Authorizes AT&T through certain separated affiliates to provide: (1) weather, time, and sports information; (2) any information service in which AT&T or any affiliate was engaged on a specified date; and (3) printed or electronic directory advertising. Sets forth the benefits, rights, and entitlements of an employee transferred from a dominant-regulated carrier or an affiliate to a fully separated affiliate. Permits a fully separated affiliate and any union representing the employees of such unit to enter into a collective bargaining agreement which will supersede any such agreement between such carriers and the transferred employee. Authorizes the FCC to coordinate the development and establishment of arrangements among regulated interexchange and carriers providing foreign telecommunications for mutual backup, restoration, and interconnection of each other's services necessary for national security. Authorizes the President to require any carrier subject to this Act to furnish, for compensation, telecommunications services or facilities to any Federal agency if such service is necessary to promote national security. Directs the President to coordinate any government program for enhancing the survivability of exchange, interexchange, and international telecommunications facilities and protecting against the unauthorized interception of telecommunications traffic. Directs the Chairman of the FCC to designate an "Emergency Preparedness Commissioner" responsible for developing such backup systems. Prohibits the FCC or any State from regulating the production, marketing, or other provision of customer-premises equipment or information services. Directs the FCC to prescribe regulations for separate pricing on a fair market value basis of such equipment or services or cable services offered in conjunction with a regulated service by a regulated carrier. Permits the FCC to establish and enforce minimum uniform technical standards for customer-premises telecommunications equipment. Authorizes the FCC to establish labeling requirements for such equipment. Exempts the use of any information processing capability in support of a telecommunications service or system from the provisions of this Act concerning the provision of an information service. Prohibits any dominant-regulated carrier from providing any customer-premises equipment, except through a fully separated affiliate, after a specified time. Authorizes the FCC, until a specified time, to require any unregulated carrier to continue to interconnect its telecommunications facilities with any person for a reasonable period of time if withdrawal of such interconnection would result in an unreasonable hardship. Requires each regulated carrier to continue, for a specified time, to provide under tariff any telecommunications service which such carrier is providing upon the enactment of this Act. Directs the FCC to determine which of such services will continue to be regulated, or shall be unregulated through a fully separated affiliate, or subject to specified safeguards. Authorizes the FCC to determine what basic telecommunications service should be universally available. Permits any person to petition the FCC to classify any interexchange telecommunications service as basic. Directs the FCC to hold a hearing upon granting such petition to determine the terms and conditions of such service. Presumes that unregulated marketplace competition will universally provide such service, unless it is clearly and convincingly demonstrated that regulation is necessary. Permits the FCC to review any such determination and to terminate regulation of service when regulation is no longer necessary. Prohibits any regulated telecommunications carrier from also engaging in providing cable services in the same operating area unless the FCC finds that such provision by a regulated carrier will provide significant additional media diversity and competition. Authorizes telecommunications carriers serving certain rural areas to provide cable television services subject to conditions prescribed by the FCC. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes certain technical amendments. Title IV: Conforming Amendments - Makes certain conforming amendments to the Criminal Code and the Clayton Act. Disavows any intent to affect the applicability of the antitrust laws and any pending litigation.

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3 official files

• Passed Senate amended

  summary · EN · 7 October 1981

  Open at official source

• Reported to Senate with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 27 July 1981

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 7 April 1981

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