Federal Communications Commission

Convergence
One of the most significant issues facing the FCC is the evolution of the

communications industry towards an all-digital, broadband world that has blurred the distinctions between services, also called “convergence.”

The FCC has restructured over the past few years to better reflect the realities of convergence, but the agency is still required to adhere to the statutory requirements of its governing legislation, the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Thus, while convergence has made distinguishing among types of data increasingly difficult, the FCC must continue to differentiate among services based on the distinctions drawn in the 1996 Act. Unfortunately,

when all data looks the same and functionally similar services are provided by companies governed by different titles of the 1996 Act, questions of fairness and competitive advantage may arise. As newer technologies and services are developed and deployed, applying legacy regulations to them may begin to appear more strained.

The FCC has addressed two issues directly related to convergence during the

109th Congress: the proper regulatory classification of services via the Internet protocol (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP) as well as law enforcement’s ability to conduct wiretaps effectively (i.e., using the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act[[ [[CALEA). These issues are &mdash; and will continue to be &mdash; extremely important in reshaping the regulatory environment for telecommunications and information services.

The FCC will also remain focused on broadband deployment. The agency will continue to monitor its policies to encourage new providers to roll out new services (e.g., power companies will be deploying broadband over powerlines BPL) as well as continue to promote deployment to underserved areas and populations, i.e., rural and low-income communities, through universal service and other programs (e.g., the E-Rate).

One of the difficulties in addressing the issues facing the FCC is that so many of them now intersect. So many of the broadband issues are inter-related that it is often difficult to sort out where one issue ends and another begins. For example, VoIP, CALEA, and BPL are all tied to the concept of broadband convergence and reliance on the Internet for information and it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to discuss one without touching on the others. Effectively addressing these types of issues may well be the greatest challenge facing both the FCC and Congress in the near future.