Legislation would force roaming in rural areas

The House Oversight and Reform Committee Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced legislation to require telecom recipients of rural universal-service funds to provide automatic roaming on just and reasonable terms to wireless carriers, adding a new dynamic to a raucous roaming debate that until now has played out almost exclusively at the Federal Communications Commission. The bill would attach the automatic roaming obligation to any affiliate of a telecom carrier that receives high-cost USF subsidies six months after the legislation is signed into law. The measure does not address data roaming, a hot-button component of the roaming debate at the FCC. Moreover, the bill leaves to the FCC the job of resolving roaming disputes between telecom carriers and steers clear of roaming rate regulation. Waxman's bill, the Universal Roaming Act of 2008, has been referred to the House Commerce Committee. Further action on the bill is not expected until next year.