CCSNJ Supports A-3766 (Cryan)
Friday, February 18, 2011

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: Members of the New Jersey General Assembly

FROM: Maria Patouhas, Manager, Government Relations

RE: A-3766 (Cryan)

DATE: February 17, 2011

The Chamber is pleased to offer its support for A-3766 (Cryan), the “Market Competition and Consumer Choice Act.” As you know, this bill alters the thirty-year old regulation of the state’s telecommunications and cable services by eliminating duplicative and outdated requirements yet retains regulation of consumer protections, franchises, rights of way, and underground facility protections.

Both the telecommunications and cable industries have changed considerably in the thirty years since the enactment of the law which this bill amends. Technology that was once a novelty has become a necessity for business. And, businesses’ ability to have access to this technology at affordable costs is key to the ability to compete and keep prices lower through increased efficiencies provided by these technologies.

These industries are highly competitive in our state, offering consumers many choices in how they receive broadband internet access, telecommunications services and access to cable television. However, companies regulated by the 1972 statute are hamstrung in their ability to compete with their unregulated counterparts. This bill remedies this situation by changing regulations in circumstances where there is competition. We know this model works in the telecommunications industry.

A study conducted by Ball State University on the impact of Indiana’s 2006 law deregulating the telecommunications and cable industries concluded that deregulation of the telecommunications industry alone resulted in $516 million in capital investment in the state and the creation of 2,200 jobs in the 18 months following passage of the law. Broadband access grew by 75% in just one year. Indiana is considered a leader in this controlled deregulation that encourages long-term, outside capital investment by reducing risk and uncertainty from unnecessary and outdated regulations. The state’s regulatory climate generates increased competition and investment in all forms of digital communications, which leads to job creation.

Providing our regulated companies the same tools to compete as their competitors, will improve service and products, result in more competitive prices and ensure that the companies that have already invested billions of dollars in infrastructure in our state – companies that make up the very fabric of our state’s economy – will continue to thrive.

We commend Assemblyman Cryan for introducing this measure that will take regulation into the twenty-first century.