CONTROVERSIAL LEGISLATION DESIGNED to spark the rollout of high-speed broadband services will likely be debated on the floor of the House of Representatives in December.

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Favorable to regional Bell companies, the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001 seeks to remove the authority to regulate data services from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state entities.

House Energy and Commerce chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-La.., and Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., introduced the legislation, which also seeks to limit the ability of FCC to force regional Bells to provide unbundled access to networks.

Thus, it has drawn the ire of both emerging CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) and long-distance giants.

Originally due to hit the House floor for debate earlier, the Sept. 11 attacks temporarily froze the legislation.

But House leadership forces have since indicated that the chamber will take up the bill, despite industry resistance, a congressional source confirmed.

Indeed, efforts to stop Tauzin-Dingell in its tracks have been heated. On Wednesday, more than 100 companies signed onto a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, asking that the bill not be brought to the floor for debate or a vote.

"This legislation is simply not necessary. The Bell Companies still control over 95 percent of the nation's residential telephone lines in the areas they serve, and there are no restrictions on the Bell Companies' ability to provide local high-speed data services today," the Nov. 14 letter reads.

But Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Tauzin, indicated that House leaders decided to move the legislation forward after becoming convinced that opponents were unwilling to engage in efforts to compromise.

"We have reached out more than our opponents have reached back, and I think the Speaker realized this," Johnson said.

"It is clear that some are not interested in reaching a deal but are just trying to kill the bill," he continued. "Their strategy is just to run out the clock."

Johnson declined to provide details on areas in which Tauzin had indicated a willingness to concede. He said that the bill is generally slated for floor action "sometime in December."