Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Triennial Review Order Emerges Amid Much Criticism

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 09:42:54 -0400

Triennial Review Order Emerges Amid Much Criticism

The Federal Communications Commission’s long-awaited Triennial Review order
finally surfaced Thursday, amid criticism from a host of stakeholders, as well as
the FCC commissioners themselves. The order, nearly 600 pages long (not counting
lengthy comments from each of the commissioners), included two changes in the
rules the commissioners discussed back in February when they voted on the measure.

The first change concerns the role of state regulators will have in deciding which
elements of incumbent telcos' networks will be available to competitors on an
unbundled basis at regulated wholesale rates. Originally, switching equipment
wasn't going to be part of the menu of unbundled network elements (UNEs).
However, yesterday’s released order gives state officials authority to decide
whether switching equipment should remain on the list of UNEs.

The FCC’s order includes a national standard that will make it nearly impossible
for states to offer UNE wholesale rates in markets where at least three Bell
competitors offer residential phone service using their own switches, or where
there are at least two facilities-based competitive carriers providing switching
services to other competitors of the incumbents telcos. The change means that
competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) in largely populated markets will have
difficulty gaining access to the incumbent local exchange carriers' (ILECs')
networks at regulated wholesale rates.

The second change involves the broadband market. In February, the FCC freed the
ILECs from a requirement that they lease at regulated discounted rates the portion
of their networks that competitors use to provide Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
(i.e., broadband) service. The released version of the FCC's order retains a
provision that allows competitors to lease complete ILEC lines for the provision
of voice and DSL service, or to partner with other carriers that are the lines.

Robert Quinn, AT&T’s [T] vice president of regulatory affairs, said the FCC’s
released order "ensures competitors access to essential network elements as long
as impairments to competition continue and thus guarantees consumers a choice of
local service providers wherever UNEs are accurately price under the FCC’s pricing
rules." On the FCC’s broadband portion of the order, Quinn said the document "was
far less bold."

"It simply surrenders to the wishes of the incumbent telephone monopolies and
grants far-reaching and premature deregulation," Quinn said. "Consumers will pay
for this lack of FCC resolve in the form of higher rates, less choice and lower
quality service."
Rick Brecher, a telecom lawyer with the Washington office of law firm Greenberg
Traurig, told TelecomWeb on Thursday that the order still hasn’t resolved all of
the thorny issues.

"Somebody has to question how do you defend an order when the commissioners are
writing appellate briefs for the other side," Brecher said. "They’ve got a
problem. You’ve got two commissioners who believe what they have done is illegal
and don’t have a problem articulating it. There is still a lot of uncertainty
here."

Indeed, Commissioner Michael Copps was particularly harsh in his comments
accompany the order's release. “The bad news is that this decision plays fast and
loose with the country’s broadband future.” Copps said. “Make no mistake about it,
today’s decision chokes off competition in broadband. Consumers, innovation,
entrepreneurs and the Internet itself are going to suffer.
“Instead of preserving, protecting and defending competition, the Commission has
torn away access to the network architectures that undergird broadband
competition. As a result, consumers, including our nation’s small businesses-the
engines of so much entrepreneurial activity and economic growth-may well be stuck
without competitive choices and prices when it comes to critical broadband
services. This is not a brave new world of broadband, but simply the old system of
local monopoly dressed up in a digital cloak."

Order is at
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A1.pdf

Powell statement
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A2.pdf

Abernathy statement
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A3.pdf

Copps statement
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A4.pdf

Copps press release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-238137A1.pdf

Martin statement
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A5.pdf

Adelstein statement
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2003/db0821/FCC-03-36A6.pdf

http://www.telecomweb.com/release0821.htm

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/