text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Regulatory Parity Act of 
  2002''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) The cable modem service offered by cable operators for 
          high-speed access to the Internet is functionally equivalent 
          to, and competes with, digital subscriber line service offered 
          by local exchange carriers.
              (2) Cable modem services and digital subscriber line 
          services are subject to disparate regulatory treatment by the 
          Federal Government and by State and local governments.
              (3) Competing and functionally equivalent products and 
          services should be regulated, or not regulated, in the same 
          manner, regardless of who provides such products or services.
              (4) The Federal Communications Commission is best 
          positioned to determine which, if any, regulatory requirements 
          for broadband access services should be retained and which, if 
          any, should be eliminated.
              (5) The Commission should be required to ensure that 
          providers of broadband services are regulated in an equivalent 
          manner, regardless of the platform used to provide such 
          services.
              (6) Government regulation should not favor or advantage one 
          class of competitors among competitors offering similar 
          products or services.
              (7) The deployment of digital subscriber line service has 
          been restrained by regulatory requirements that are 
          inappropriate for a competitive service offered by various non-
          dominant providers.
              (8) Inappropriate regulation imposes needless costs and 
          results in higher consumer costs.
              (9) Lower consumer costs will accelerate demand for high-
          speed Internet access services.
              (10) Regulatory certainty and parity will provide 
          incentives to increase deployment of high-speed Internet 
          services, bringing the benefits of such services to communities 
          in the form of enhancements in medicine, education, national 
          security, work from home, and other benefits.
              (11) The United States lags behind many other countries in 
          the deployment of high-speed data services.
              (12) When all providers of broadband services compete under 
          the same rules, consumers will benefit from increased choices 
          and lower prices.
  
  SEC. 3. PARITY IN REGULATORY TREATMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDERS 
                AND BROADBAND ACCESS SERVICE PROVIDERS.
  
      (a) In General.--Part II of title II of the Communications Act of 
  1934 (47 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
  following new section:
  
  ``SEC. 262. PARITY IN REGULATORY TREATMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICE 
                PROVIDERS AND BROADBAND ACCESS SERVICE PROVIDERS.
  
      ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
  Commission shall, not later than 120 days after the date of the 
  enactment of the Broadband Regulatory Parity Act of 2002, prescribe 
  regulations to ensure that--
              ``(1) all broadband services, and all broadband access 
          services, are subject to the same regulatory requirements, or 
          no regulatory requirements;
              ``(2) all providers of broadband services, and all 
          providers of broadband access services, are subject to the same 
          regulatory requirements, or no regulatory requirements, with 
          respect to the provision of such services and the facilities 
          and equipment used to provide such services in the provision of 
          such services; and
              ``(3) paragraphs (1) and (2) are implemented without 
          increasing the regulatory requirements applicable to any 
          provider of broadband services, or broadband access services, 
          on any such service or on any facilities or equipment used to 
          provide any such service in the provision of such service.
      ``(b) Prohibition on State Jurisdiction.--Notwithstanding any other 
  provision of law, broadband services and broadband access services, and 
  the facilities and equipment used to provide such services in the 
  provision of such services, shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of 
  any State.
      ``(c) Obligations of Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers to Internet 
  Service Providers.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), each incumbent 
  local exchange carrier has the duty to provide all Internet service 
  providers with the telecommunications necessary for such provider to 
  provide broadband access service to its subscribers. Such 
  telecommunications shall be offered on rates, terms, and conditions 
  that are just and reasonable.
      ``(d) Savings Provisions.--(1) Nothing in this section affects the 
  requirements of section 271.
      ``(2) Nothing in this section affects the obligations of incumbent 
  local exchange carriers under section 251(c) to provide requesting 
  telecommunications carriers with services and access to facilities and 
  equipment necessary for the provision of switch-based voice 
  telecommunications service.
      ``(3) Nothing in this section precludes or affects any tariff filed 
  by the National Exchange Carrier Association or any rural telephone 
  company, and any such tariff may continue to include broadband 
  services.
      ``(4) Nothing in this section affects section 251(f).''.
      (b) Definitions.--Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
  U.S.C. 153) is amended--
              (1) by redesignating paragraphs (20) through (52) as 
          paragraphs (22) through (54), respectively; and
              (2) by inserting after paragraph (19) the following new 
          paragraphs:
              ``(20) Broadband service.--The term `broadband service' 
          means any service that is used to provide access to the 
          Internet and consists of or includes the offering of a 
          capability to transmit information at a rate that is generally 
          not less than 256 kilobits per second in at least one 
          direction.
              ``(21) Broadband access service.--The term `broadband 
          access service' means a service that combines computer 
          processing, information storage, protocol conversion, and wire 
          routing with transmission to enable users to access Internet 
          content and services.''.
target: Broadband Regulatory Parity Act of 2002 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations to ensure that: (1) all broadband services and broadband access services are subject to the same regulatory requirements (or no such requirements); (2) all providers of such services are subject to the same regulatory requirements with respect to such services and the facilities and equipment used to provide such services; and (3) the above requirements are met without increasing current regulatory requirements with respect to such services, facilities, or equipment. Prohibits such services and related facilities and equipment from being subject to the jurisdiction of any State.Requires each incumbent local exchange carrier to provide all Internet service providers with the telecommunications necessary for the provision of broadband access service to subscribers at just and reasonable rates.
feat_title: A bill to provide for parity in regulatory treatment of broadband services providers and of broadband access services providers, and for other purposes.