Last month, the Legislature unanimously passed legislation (Senate Bill 603) that will benefit Hawai'i consumers by taking a significant step toward creating a level competitive playing field for all telecom competitors by recognizing the competitive nature of Hawai'i's telecommunications market and establishing a level of regulatory oversight and protection more appropriate to that competitive market.

When you look back in history at the original sources of telecommunications regulation, such as the Communications Act of 1934, the authors of such legislation were more concerned with protecting the public interest and not as focused on the industry's potential for furthering progress and innovation.

Roll forward to the present and the profound changes in technology and markets, where competition has replaced government regulation as the most effective regulator of price and the key stimulant for innovation.

The advances and convergence of various technologies have dramatically and irreversibly changed Hawai'i's telecommunications market, as consumers today can and do choose from among numerous landline, wireless, broadband, cable and Internet-based providers. In 1996, when the Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission rules were adopted, almost no one used e-mail, and landline phones significantly outnumbered wireless phones.

Today, that world seems like a lifetime ago as now wireless phones outnumber landline phones and consumers are more concerned with e-mailing and texting than with simple dial-tone phone service.

So how competitive is the Hawai'i telecommunications marketplace? At least 20 different competitors provide communications service to Hawai'i consumers, including seven competing landline companies, one cable company, five wireless providers, and numerous broadband providers and voice-over-Internet providers.

With all of these competitors, 90 percent of households in Hawai'i can purchase telephone service from at least two providers other than Hawaiian Telcom; 80 percent can purchase service from at least five other providers, and 70 percent can purchase services from six or more other providers.

Recognizing this competitive marketplace, the Legislature has developed a bill that will bring the benefits of innovative products and services to Hawai'i consumers by establishing clearly defined rules with which all carriers must comply, thereby treating all carriers equally — leveling the playing field and giving each and every carrier a fair chance at succeeding in the marketplace.

At the same time, it leaves intact the PUC's current regulatory authority, which means that all telecommunications carriers must comply with the same pricing rules, service quality standards and reporting requirements, and be subject to investigatory oversight — no carrier, including Hawaiian Telcom, will be "free" from regulation. And consumers will continue to be protected from any rate increases, which remain subject to approval by the PUC.

Hawaiian Telcom plays an important role in the state's telecommunications industry and in our community in general. It has since 1883, when King Kalakaua granted its charter to provide service to the Islands. We support this legislation because it promotes a fairer and more competitive telecommunications marketplace, which is critical to a healthy and vibrant Hawai'i economy.

Eric Yeaman is president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Telcom. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.