• The Broadband Census of America Act (Committee Print) seeks to address the lack of accurate information about the nature and extent of broadband service across America in order to pave the way for an interactive national broadband map and the development and implementation of a comprehensive national broadband strategy.

• The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act (HR 3403) seeks to ensure that consumers can successfully call 911 in an emergency from an Internet phone, using so-called “voice over Internet protocol” or VoIP service.

Chairman Markey’s opening statement is below:

Good Afternoon. Today the Subcommittee is scheduled to markup two pieces of legislation. The first is a Committee Print of the “Broadband Census of America Act of 2007” and the second is the “911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007, which is sponsored by our colleague Mr. Gordon.

The E911 legislation (H.R. 3403) is designed to ensure that a consumer calling 911 in an emergency from an Internet phone, using so-called “voice over Internet protocol” or VoIP service, can do so with a degree of confidence matching that of traditional phone service and wireless service. The bill seeks to achieve this goal through two key provisions. The first provision extends liability protections to VoIP service providers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacks authority to grant liability protection to VoIP service providers and therefore Congress must take action to achieve this policy objective. This is similar to action this Subcommittee took in 1999 when such liability protection was accorded to wireless providers.

The second key provision in the bill establishes the right of VoIP providers to access the parts of the 911 infrastructure they need in order to complete 911 calls for consumers. This is an important provision because while the FCC has acted to require VoIP providers to meet Enhanced 911 service obligations, the Commission did not order that such VoIP providers had a legal right to the components of the 911 infrastructure they would need to fulfill their E911 obligations under the Commission’s own rules.

I want to commend Mr. Gordon for his excellent work and leadership on this bill. We have endeavored over the last several weeks to work on a bipartisan basis through several issues. A manager’s amendment that Mr. Gordon will offer reflects the results of these discussions and I think it is an excellent step forward. I also want to salute Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Shimkus, and Mr. Pickering for their work on this legislation and commend Chairman Dingell, Mr. Barton and Mr. Upton for their efforts as well.

The second bill we will markup is the Committee Print of legislation that was subject to a hearing back in May on broadband data collection and mapping.

I want to begin by emphasizing that the Committee Print represents a work in progress – but it does represent real progress. I want to especially commend Subcommittee Ranking Member Upton and Full Committee Ranking Member Barton for the excellent manner in which they have engaged with me and Chairman Dingell on this bill. My ongoing objective is to work toward bipartisan consensus on this legislation and I think we’ve made great strides towards that goal in the last several weeks.

The Committee Print reflects the growing consensus – if not unanimity -- around the fact that current data collection methods used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are inadequate and highly flawed. Currently, the FCC counts a single broadband subscriber in a 5-digit zip code as indicating the entire zip code has broadband availability, even if the sole subscriber is a business and not a residential consumer. This can lead to highly inaccurate and overly generous notions of actual broadband availability and use, particularly in rural areas where zip codes are quite large.

The state of knowledge around the status of broadband services in the United States also affects the ability of policymakers to make sound decisions. For instance, the Federal government can do a much better job in reforming multi-billion dollar grant and subsidy programs – whether at the Rural Utilities Service or the universal service program at the FCC – if we have better data on where we truly need to target government assistance. Similarly, States can focus limited State resources for economic assistance, computer adoption, and broadband promotion if ample and accurate data is available indicating where such resources should be deployed.

This bill also encompasses an effort modeled, in part, on the experience in the State of Kentucky. There, a state-wide broadband mapping effort and community organizing initiative for un-served and under-served areas has helped to increase consumer and community knowledge of where and what type of broadband service is available, at a street-level degree of specificity. This is a very consumer-friendly mapping function and “demand-side” identification that the high tech and telecommunications industry also supports. The Committee Print contains similar provisions that embody the same goal.

Again, we will have more work to do, especially in further refining the scope of what’s considered proprietary information, which remains overly broad in my view, and with definitions and other items, but today represents a step forward. I want to thank Mr. Upton, Mr. Barton, Chairman Dingell, and our other colleagues for their work on this and look forward to working together as we proceed.