NATCHEZ &045; Changes in the way people communicate call for changes in telecom laws, John M. McCullouch said Thursday in Natchez.

Speaking to members of the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon meeting, McCullouch, president of BellSouth in Mississippi, recalled the first telephone in his family home.

&uot;I remember as a child our first telephone,&uot; he said. &uot;It was a four-party line, and you had to wait to use it. And sometimes people would listen in on you.&uot;

New communications technology includes &uot;fiber optics, broadband, cell phones, Blackberries, voice calls over the Internet &045; you don’t have to wait your turn to communicate any more,&uot; he said. &uot;Now there are so many different tools.&uot;

With technology, a big shift is occurring in communication patterns, McCullouch said. In 1990, U.S. households were 100 percent in wire-line local and long distance services. By 2000, wireless minutes grew to 13 percent, and 5 percent of the minutes went to broadband.

&uot;Projections are that by 2010, wireless will have 26 percent, broadband will have 45 percent of the total minutes in use and wire-line will have only 29 percent,&uot; he said.

Broadband is a &uot;generic term for the technology or services that allows the user to access the Internet at speeds much faster than dial-up,&uot; McCullouch said. Broadband can refer to wireless networks, cable modems or digital subscriber line, known as DSL.

Wireless phones in 2002 began to outnumber the total number of wire-line access lines, he said. &uot;Wireless is projected to grow to 210 million phones by 2010, with wire-line access lines declining to 87 million.&uot;

During 2005, one study shows, more than 10 percent of all households will substitute wire-line phones with cell phones. &uot;Today’s younger generation use cell phones a lot. As they marry and have children, those lines will grow,&uot; McCullouch said.

Like the cell phone, the Internet has revolutionized communications, he said. &uot;In 2003, 44 percent of communications that used to take place by telephone took place over the Internet via instant messaging and e-mail,&uot; he said. &uot;In fact, some 31 billion e-mails are sent each day. The market is moving toward more Internet-based communications, and the United States is woefully behind other countries in deployment of broadband services.&uot;

In fact, the United States is 16th place in providing broadband services, he said. &uot;It is hard to believe with as high a technology as we have in this country,&uot; he said.

McCullouch used a chart to show how in BellSouth’s nine-state territory the company has made progress in penetrating the broadband market. &uot;We have 37 percent. Cable providers dominate the broadband market.&uot;

Using another chart, McCullouch showed how the traditionally wire-line companies are unfairly regulated as compared to cable, cellular and voice-over-Internet companies.

&uot;This is a distinct disadvantage to traditional wire-line companies like BellSouth,&uot; he said. &uot;This is especially true when it comes to developing and deploying new services.&uot;

A reform in regulations already has taken place in Mississippi, he said. With the 2003 Broadband Technology Development Act, tax incentives decrease costs of deploying high-speed data equipment. The act had immediate impact at BellSouth, McCullouch said.

&uot;BellSouth significantly increased our DSL capital spending in Mississippi from $3.5 million to $10.8 million in 2003,&uot; he said.

And early in 2005, another bill passed the state Legislature to ensure broadband services are exempt from regulation from the Public Service Commission.

That bill prompted new commitment from BellSouth. &uot;For example, this year BellSouth has committed to spending another $12 million on deployment of DSL services in Mississippi.&uot;

The Mississippi Public Service Commission did not oppose the broadband act. &uot;They realize how critical the availability of broadband is to every part of the state.&uot;

Changes in federal regulations are moving more slowly. McCullough said the United States Telecom Association, of which BellSouth is one of 1,200 member companies, is lobbying for legislation that will put consumers in charge of the market &uot;while safeguarding basic consumer protections such as the 911 system and access to telecommunications by disabled users.&uot;

BellSouth has four priorities for new telecom legislation.

First, the bill should create the consumer-controlled marketplace by removing economic regulation on the retail business.

Second, there should be regulatory relief for broadband services and services using the Internet protocol, the &uot;basic communications language that moves packets of data through the broadband network.&uot; That includes telephone by Internet, text messaging, e-mail and surfing the Internet, for example.

&uot;BellSouth strongly believes that broadband and IP-enabled services should be free from economic regulation at both the federal and state levels,&uot; he said. That freedom will prompt more investment by companies such as BellSouth.

Third, new legislation should provide technology neutrality. &uot;It shouldn’t matter how services are delivered. Whether a network is made up of twisted copper pairs, fiber, coax, wireless or anything else is irrelevant,&uot; McCullouch said.

&uot;BellSouth’s traditional copper networks, which can be utilized to provide broadband services, should receive the same regulatory treatment as any other network technology.&uot; That’s not happening today, he said.

Fourth, the Universal Service Fund, the FCC’s way of keeping local rates at reasonable levels, should be changed to include all communications providers, not just wire-line and wireless carriers, he said.

McCullouch said the outdated regulations that stifle investments in telecommunications must be changed

&uot;to help our nation regain its global stature and once again lead the information age.&uot;