WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign unveiled a bill Wednesday to revamp outdated telecommunication law in ways he said would promote competition and help consumers.

Reigniting debate over government's role in rapidly advancing technology, Ensign, D-Nev., called for Congress to overhaul the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which set ground rules just before the explosion of the Internet.

Ensign's bill would deregulate emerging segments of the industry, eliminating discrepancies between laws for voice, video and data services.

"Cable companies now are offering voice," Ensign said. "Phone companies are launching video services. Wireless companies are doing broadband and phone calls can be made over the Internet. And despite a variety of options for consumers, we still regulate these companies based on ancient history."

Democratic senators simultaneously called for Congress to update the law, agreeing the United States is falling behind and now ranks 16th worldwide in broadband reach despite having invented the technology.

Like Ensign, they contended catching up with other parts of the world will help keep jobs in America.

"As we grappled with the whole concept of telecommunications (in 1996), nobody talked about anything except telephones," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said.

Kerry praised broadband technology for connecting small businesses to markets, providing quick information to police and fire departments, and bringing online resources into hospitals and schools.

According to National Education Association director Kim Anderson, 96 percent to 98 percent of classrooms are connected to the Internet but still need the fastest connection so more can be learned during short lessons.

While lawmakers and activists all advocated modernizing the law, there were signs Wednesday that Ensign's bill will provoke spirited debate.

Ensign is chairman of a Senate subcommittee for technology and head of a Republican high-tech task force. Since 2001, he has received $46,000 from telephone, telecom and Internet political action committees such as those representing Sprint Corp., SBC Communications, Time Warner Telecom and T-Mobile USA, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

"Consumers better hold on to their wallets if this bill becomes law," said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union. "They can look forward to soaring cable and phone bills and even fewer choices for broadband as dominant cable and phone companies tighten their stranglehold on the limited competition in these markets."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said he would be surprised if the Senate passed any telecommunications overhaul this year. He said that he hopes the debate does not focus on large communications corporations and boil down to "a battle of titans."

He added, "I worry that we've been bogged down in technology discussions about how we talk to each other rather than focused on what we wanted to say."