Wisconsin Senate Adjourns; PSC Landline Telephone Oversight Powers Remain (For Now)

This afternoon the Wisconsin Senate adjourned for the session without bringing the landline telephone deregulation bill to the floor. The opposition in the last couple of weeks by the coalition of small businesses, unions, telephony competitors, aging and consumers groups really slowed the AT&T-led effort, which was full-bore even through this morning. AT&T and the WSTA crew "flooded the zone" with lobbyists in the last days of the session.

Now the Public Service Commission can complete its own process of determining which of its telephone oversight powers should remain and what can be eliminated. And now that the mapping of existing broadband in Wisconsin is underway with the help of federal stimulus funds, would it be asking too much of the PSC to take a leadership role in creating a plan to bring the benefits of broadband to the state's rural citizens and businesses?  There's federal money on its way to help extend high-capacity fiber to schools, libraries and other public institutions via the Badgernet, but the state should be holding industry's feet to the fire to wire the farms and small towns.

The effort to strip the PSC of its landline telephone oversight powers isn't over by a long shot, either.  Lots more cash will go to campaign funds and lots more billable hours will be racked up for lobbying, even yet this year.

- Barry Orton