The Senate Commerce Committee heard varying angles on the impact that technological convergence has had on competition; Thursday's testimony came during the final hearing that the committee will hold before it revamps the communication regulatory policy by revising a bill that might update the 1996 Telecommunication Act, writes Broadcasting & Cable (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

Despite the increased availability of alternate platforms, Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said, phone and cable companies continue to account for over 98 percent of the broadband market, and "in too many parts of the country, Americans still lack a real choice in competitive broadband alternatives."

Stevens said, "It is our hope that as we level the playing field we will seek the most deregulatory course possible consistent with the public interest."

Witnesses raised other issues, including video franchising, internet service discrimination, spectrum set-asides for wireless devices without licenses, and phone interconnection for cable voice services.