This Fall -- Congress Does Telecom (In its Own, Impotent Way).

Blair Levin's closing quote sums up today's AP article nicely, "Like so much of what is happening in Washington in the fall of 2008, it's all about the spring of 2009." Here's what AP is reporting (full article can be read here):

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Technology and telecommunications issues will be on Capitol Hill's radar in the months ahead as lawmakers attempt to influence regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and frame the debate for next year's Congress. Among the issues at the top of the agenda: subsidies for telephone service in underserved areas and online privacy.

With a lame-duck Congress and the Senate Commerce Committee still regrouping following the July indictment of its top Republican, Alaska's Ted Stevens, it's unlikely lawmakers will produce much legislation upon returning from summer recess. But Congress doesn't need to pass bills to influence tech and telecom policy, said Stanford Washington Research Group analyst Paul Gallant.

A prime example is the battle over proposed "network neutrality" rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from discriminating against or favoring Internet traffic flowing over their networks...