Tauzin-Dingell Would Cost 77,000 Jobs

A group of ISPs, telecom companies, and lobbying associations claims that the Tauzin-Dingell bill, if passed, would destroy approximately 77,000 telecom and high-tech jobs.

by Roy Mark of www.internetnews.com [November 20, 2001]

A coalition of ISPs, telecom companies, and lobbying associations claims a minimum of approximately 77,000 telecom and high-tech jobs would be lost if H.R. 1542 (The Tauzin-Dingell bill) becomes law. In order to press home their point, the coalition released a letter to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert that urged the Speaker not to bring the bill to the House floor.

Signed by 106 CEOs of telecom companies across the U.S., the letter stated that the bill's passage "could create the worst possible scenario (for consumers)—four megacompanies each possessing an unregulated monopoly over local telephone services and Internet access."

"At a time when the American economy stands at such a precarious point, it's incredible that Congress may actually consider a bill that would force entrepreneurial companies into bankruptcy, put a minimum of 77,000 people out of work, and raise consumer prices by up to 50 percent," said John Windausen, Jr., president of the Association of Local Telecommunication Services (ALTS), which is part of the coalition opposing the bill.

Tauzin-Dingell bill would roll back protections for consumers and small businesses under current federal telecom law. Under the current law, the Baby Bells are prohibited from entering the local broadband market until they have allowed competitive local exchange carrier access to local markets.

The job loss statistics were announced at a press conference that included George Schmitt, chief executive officer of e.spire Communications; Roscoe C. Young, II, president and chief operating officer of KMC Telecom; and David Baker, vice president of law and public policy at EarthLink. Also attending were U.S. Reps. John Conyers (MI), Chris Cannon (UT), and Bill Luther (MN).

Young said that passage of Tauzin-Dingell would "result in no choice for communications in rural or remote areas, higher phone bills and thousands of people out of work."

Schmitt emphasized the destructive impact of Tauzin-Dingell on jobs and the telecom industry.

"This bill calls for returning monopoly power to the four giant phone monopolies. Many companies that can no longer compete will fold, thus eliminating thousands of jobs that support thousands of families and leaving consumers with much higher bills for basic services," said Schmitt.

Baker added, "The Bells are making it virtually impossible for consumers to get DSL service from anyone except their own affiliates. In California, for example, Pacific Bell/SBC has made it impossible for Internet customers to change to an independent ISP without losing their DSL connection for weeks or months at a time. Tauzin-Dingell will eliminate thousands of independent Internet service providers and the jobs they provide."

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