Senate Passes Leahy Measure To Expand Internet Access Via Satellite Television....Amendment Approved As Part Of Rural Loan Guarantee Program For Satellite Television

March 30, 2000

(March 30, 7:00 p.m.) -- As the U.S. Senate Thursday evening vverwhelmingly approved a new federal loan guarantee program to encourage home satellite service in rural, under-served markets, two senators, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), successfully added a measure to the legislation that would expand Internet access over satellite television connections.

The overall bill, known as the "Launching Our Communities' Access To Local Television Act," would provide up to $1.25 billion worth of federally-guaranteed loans to encourage satellite television providers to offer local television service (called "local-into-local" service) to rural, under-served markets. During debate on last year's landmark satellite television overhaul bill, many satellite television firms said they could easily provide local television service by satellite to the top, heavily-populated markets, but it would generally be impractical to extend service to rural, less-populated markets. The Senate approved the overall bill this evening by a vote of 97 to 0.

One idea conceived by Leahy and others was to create a federal loan guarantee program to encourage service to under-served, rural America -- areas where cable television often could not reach and, therefore, where satellite dish owners had no access to local television. The Senate unanimously approved the Leahy-Baucus amendment this afternoon, a measure that directs the governing board that approves the loans to give priority to those applicant firms that pledge to also offer high-speed Internet access. Internet access could only be used with any excess capacity after satellite television companies provided "local-into-local" service to rural markets. Leahy believes there will be plenty of excess capacity available for Internet access.

"Without this bill, much of rural America could be left out of a new era of satellite television," said Leahy, who also co-authored last year's rewrite of the satellite television law. Referring to the amendment he sponsored with Baucus, Leahy added, "We see new evidence every day that the digital divide between ‘haves' and ‘have-nots' is expanding. Our plan would help narrow that digital gap so that a whole new wave of consumers in rural America can access a part of the Internet revolution."

[NOTE TO VERMONT NEWS EDITORS: The rural loan guarantee program -- and the Leahy Internet access amendment for companies that apply -- will be less critical in Vermont. Because Senator Leahy for the past year has encouraged one of the major satellite television providers to serve Vermont with "local-into-local" service once their new, advanced technology satellites are in orbit, federal loan guarantees will probably not be needed for service in Vermont. Leahy, nonetheless, believes it is a good policy to encourage "local-into-local" satellite television service for all of rural America -- and the high-speed Internet access to go with it -- and a federal loan guarantee program is another assurance that Vermonters will receive local television program by satellite one way or another.]