Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va.) led a bipartisan group of 30 U.S. senators in introducing a bill providing a tax credit equal to 10 percent of a carrier's investment in equipment used to provide broadband services to business or residential customers in rural and low-income areas.
The proposal, called the Broadband Internet Access Act, would apply to services carrying at least 1.5M bps downstream and at least 200K bps upstream, roughly paralleling the capabilities of asymmetric DSL. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, and the Bush administration so far is noncommittal.
The National Convergence Alliance (NCA) has issued a call for white papers on IP billing and related matters. Apogee Networks of Saddle Brook, N.J., is chairing the NCA's IP Billing Committee. For more information, see www.Convergence Alliance.com.
