Illinois Coalition Wants Telecom Act Updated

The act, which is to expire July 1, established that telecommunications services should be available to all citizens at just, reasonable and affordable rates and that services should be provided as widely and economically as possible in sufficient variety, quality, quantity and reliability to satisfy the public interest, said the Illinois General Assembly’s website. It also said the regulatory policies and procedures were established in recognition of the industry's changing nature and should be subject to legislative review. Development of and prudent investment in advanced telecommunications services and networks that foster the state's economic development should be encouraged through the implementation and enforcement of policies that promote effective and sustained competition in all telecommunications service markets, the law said.

The coalition aims to encourage a proceeding or even legislation to start spending less on copper and more on fiber and wireless networks, said Todd Maisch, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which is a member of the group. Because the laws haven't been updated since "dramatic" changes in the industry over the past five years and even the past two decades, Maisch said, it's time to start doing that. The coalition is looking for less and smarter regulation because "requiring AT&T or other telecommunications providers in the state of Illinois to invest in 1930s, 1940s technology just doesn't make sense," he said. "That investment should be going into much more modern technologies on something that's going to benefit consumers at the end of the day." While there isn't a bill out there right now, the coalition is looking for something that would ensure that consumers have options while eventually leaving copper behind in favor of fiber, Maisch said.

Those opposed to the proposed update to the Illinois Telecom Act say anyone who has driven through the state's more rural areas knows that wireless doesn't always work, said Jim Chilsen, a spokesman for the Citizens Utility Board. It's more about the telecom companies wanting to increase their profits, not updating technology, he said. The industry, he said, wants to force all customers onto phone options that tend to be less reliable and more expensive, Chilsen said. "This is about healthy consumer choice. AT&T and other big companies are raking in billions of dollars a year; they seem to be doing just fine with the market that gives consumers a wide choice." Updating the Telecom Act doesn't "mean getting rid of consumer protections -- those are never outdated," said the CUB spokesman.

Illinois telecom law should encourage investment in modern technologies that consumers want, not rotary dial-era technology they left behind, said an AT&T Illinois spokesman. Eighty-two percent of Illinois households use newer technologies for home phone service, he said. Investment in high-speed communication networks created more than 13,000 jobs in Illinois in 2010 and 2011, said a 2013 Navigant Economics study.

Telcos are saying they need to be able to use whatever technology will get the job done best, said Sherry Lichtenberg, National Regulatory Research Institute principal researcher-telecom. The main concern with using fiber instead of copper for landlines is the power source, she said, with fiber lasting at most only eight hours during a power outage. The power source for copper comes from the central office, whereas voice over fiber requires consumers to provide their own battery backup, she said. “That's the one thing I think that most people are complaining about,” she said. “It's really very positive except for a couple of drawbacks. You have to have your own battery and you're in charge of taking care of that backup.”