From the AP news wire.
Telecommunications Michael Powell is expected to step down as FCC chairman after leading the agency to deregulatory decisions that benefit the regional Bell telephone companies. Bush's replacements for Powell and a Democratic commissioner whose term is up will ensure a continuing GOP majority, leading to further deregulation with a goal of bridging the digital divide more quickly. In Congress, where there have been calls to replace the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with new legislation, it's not likely a stronger Republican majority will have a major impact, because most senators view the issues in terms of how they affect their urban or rural constituencies. For example, as revenues from traditional telephone services plunge due to competition and new technologies, so does the flow of taxes used to subsidize phone companies in less-profitable rural and poor areas. So while Republicans generally seek less regulation, senators from rural states may not be inclined to excuse the new Internet phone services from payments to the Universal Service Fund. At the same time, any attempt to rewrite the Telecom Act would likely seek to simplify the complex system of access fees paid to local phone companies that connect either end of a call, reflecting the emergence of cellphones and Internet phone service as popular conduits for calling.