Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1979

Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1979 - Title I: Amendment to Title I - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose a fee on any person regulated under such Act. Requires such fee to include costs to the FCC of: (1) processing licenses and tariff filings; and (2) regulating such persons and providing services to license applicants. Authorizes the FCC to waive such fee for governmental entities, public telecommunications entities, or noncommercial users of the spectrum. Directs the FCC to develop appropriate fee schedules within one year and to place moneys from such fees in the Treasury as reimbursement for appropriations to carry out FCC functions under such Act.

Title II: Amendments to Title II: - Directs the FCC to prescribe regulations to result, within six years, in marketplace competition in and deregulation of the provision of telecommunication services.

Requires such regulations to: (1) classify common carriers according to the degree of regulation necessary for each carrier (considering such factors as market shares for particular services, price leadership in such services, relative overall financial resources, relative number of customers, number of carriers in the market, and other characteristics of a particular market), with review of such classifications every two years; (2) establish and implement an accounting system to allocate costs of services provided; (3) determine in which cases monopoly service common carriers must form subsidiaries to offer any other telecommunications products or services or engage in other business activities (directs the FCC to determine the relation of such subsidiaries to the parent company, but prohibits the FCC from requiring divestiture of any part of such carriertoits subsidiaries); (4) establish an access compensation charge to be paid by common carriers interconnecting their facilities with those of a local telephone exchange; (5) provide for acceleration of existing equipment depreciation rates for assets used to provide telecommunications services, with appropriate FCC oversight for six years or less; (6) ensure that any rate or charge for telecommunications services, other than monopoly service, will in any year be raised no more than five percent or reduced no more than ten percent during the two-year period following the enactment of this Act, and raised no more than ten percent or reduced no more than 20 percent during the four years following such two-year period; (7) provide that such rate changes take effect after 90 days notice, except that hearings on such changes may be ordered by the FCC on its own initiative or upon the filing of a sworn complaint, and changes in excess of such limits may be rejected; (8) ensure interconnection of common carriers providing telephone service with one another and with local telephone exchange facilities by FCC assistance in forming, and oversight of, an association of such carriers (exempt from certain antitrust laws) to manage such interconnection of facilities; (9) authorize, automatically within 90 days, construction, expansion or extension of facilities by a common carrier offering or proposing to offer telecommunications services, other than monopoly service, unless the FCC determines that a substantial question of fact exists as to whether the investment is in the public interest; (10) prohibit the discontinuance, impairment, or reduction of telephone toll service by a common carrier, except in the public interest as determined by the FCC; (11) provide a continuous review to ensure that nationwide telephone toll services exist through marketplace competition; and (12) adjust the level of regulation to remove marketplace deficiencies, anticompetitive behavior, or other such practices.

Directs the FCC: (1) to create a separate Office of Deregulation to monitor FCC accomplishment of the purposes of this title and to make recommendations to assist the FCC in achieving such purposes; (2) to report annually to Congress, with recommendations for statutory changes; and (3) to evaluate the provision of telecommunications service, pursuant to the measures of this title six years after enactment.

Includes Hawaii within the measures of the Communications Act of 1934 governing the consolidations and mergers of telegraph carriers.

Directs the FCC to decide: (1) whether a domestic carrier shall be excluded from providing international telecommunications services; (2) whether regulation of such services is necessary; and (3) to what degree a carrier seeking to provide both domestic and international telecommunications services should be regulated.

Directs the FCC to adopt a procedure to develop a United States International Telecommunications Facilities Plan.

Stipulates that in performing responsibilities in connection with such Plan under FCC authority, U.S. international and domestic common carriers shall not be subject to antitrust laws, except in the case of acts which would be violations when taken by a single carrier.

Directs the President to supervise and instruct designated entities as required by such Plan.

Provides for the selection of U.S. delegations to international telecommunications meetings. Directs the President to take certain steps to carry out U.S. policy to assure the free flow of information and telecommunications services across national boundaries.

Title III: Amendments to Title III - Directs the FCC to establish a system of random selection for new broadcast licenses when there is more than one qualified applicant for a license. Prohibits the FCC from granting any new licenses until such system is in effect.

Requires that radio broadcasting station licenses be granted for an indefinite period of time, subject to revocation only under specified conditions. Requires that television broadcasting station licenses be granted, subject to revocation or denial under certain conditions, for no longer than: (1) three years, for stations in the top 25 markets; (2) four years, for stations in the next 75 markets; and (3) five years, for stations in the remaining markets. Sets forth procedures and standards for FCC renewal of television broadcast licenses.

Prohibits the FCC from requiring, by rule or otherwise, radio broadcast licensees to: (1) provide news, public affairs, and locally produced programs, or to adhere to a particular programming format or maintain program logs; (2) afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance (but authorizes the FCC to make rules concerning attacks on the honesty, character, integrity, or personal qualities of an identified person or group); (3) ascertain the problems, needs, and interests of its service area; and (4) refuse the advertising of any product or service that is legally available.

Prohibits the FCC from: (1) authorizing any additional stations to operate in the contiguous United States on any clear channel frequencies authorized by the FCC as of February 1, 1979; or (2) modifying any existing license authorizations so as to increase interference on such stations.

Requires the FCC to review all rules, regulations, and policies applicable to radio broadcast licensees and to eliminate those not necessary to: (1) maintain an orderly allocation and use of the radio frequency spectrum; (2) promote equal employment opportunity in such broadcasting; and (3) prevent fraudulent practices in the operation of such stations.

Requires the FCC to review all rules, regulations, and policies applicable to television broadcast licensees to determine if such rules continue to be necessary: (1) to protect the public interest, convenience, and necessity; or (2) in view of the availability of new and diverse sources of video programming. Directs the FCC to report to Congress: (1) annually on its progress in eliminating such unnecessary rules, regulations, and policies; and (2) within six years on the availability to the public of diverse video programming. Requires the FCC to notify Congress of its intention to increase regulation of television broadcast licensees. Authorizes either House of Congress to veto any such regulation by resolution within 60 days of such notification. Directs the Office of Deregulation to monitor the deregulation of radio and television broadcast licenses.

Declares the finding that cable systems are engaged in interstate commerce.

Defines the authority of the FCC with respect to cable systems. Directs the FCC: (1) to ensure cable system operators and manufacturers conform to technical standards necessary for interoperability of cable systems, compatibility of receivers, and prevention of interference with radio and television; (2) to establish conditions for the carriage of radio and television broadcast signals by cable system operators, with case-by-case exceptions; (3) to ensure and promote equal employment opportunities; (4) to prohibit common carriers from operating cable systems or programming cable channels, with specified exceptions and waivers; (5) to prohibit cable systems operators from preventing cable subscribers from connecting receiving or terminal equipment of any type, except that determined by the FCC as technically incompatible with the operation of such system; (6) to ensure that, whenever a cable system is the only video program source in a given market, a reasonable number of channels are available for lease on a nondiscriminatory basis to persons having no financial interest in such system; (7) to restrict cable system carriage of certain sporting events; (8) to require cable operators to maintain records and submit reports necessary to the FCC functions; (9) to ensure the privacy and security of broadband communications; and (10) to ensure that legally qualified candidates for Federal elective office are allowed reasonable access to and permitted purchase of reasonable amounts of cable system time.

Grants the States exclusive jurisdiction of all other matters with respect to cable systems. Prohibits any executive agency, including the FCC, and any State or political subdivision or agency thereof from: (1) requiring or prohibiting program origination by a cable system operator or channel programmer, or imposing restrictions or obligations affecting the content of such programs, with specified exceptions; or (2) establishing, fixing, or otherwise restricting the rates charged: (A) to channel programmers by cable system operators or common carriers for the use of, or time on, channels; or (B) to advertisers or subscribers by channel programmers for time or program originations.

Permits broadcast licensees, including television networks or publishing entities, to own or control a cable system or lease cable channels.

Prohibits interception or reception of broadband communications unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable system operator, channel programmer, originator of broadband communications, or law.

Requires that broadband communications be deemed "wire communication" within the meaning of the U.S. Criminal Code concerning wire interception. Declares that such Federal criminal law be controlling in the event of any difference from this Act.

Prohibits certain violations of the privacy of cable subscribers and provides for the recovery of civil damages for such violations.

Authorizes the FCC to delegate to non-Federal Government committees the coordination of frequency assignments above 30 millihertz to stations in the terrestrial private land mobile and fixed services. Sets forth application procedures, standards and five-year terms for such licenses.