FCC Gives Puerto Rico Extension in BDS Transport Forbearance
The FCC will give relief to incumbent LECs, granting them forbearance from pricing regulation on lower-speed legacy transport and requirements to sell the transport as unbundled network elements (UNE) to competitive carriers that then use them in their business data services, voting unanimously at its meeting Wednesday on a petition from USTelecom (see 1905130050). The agency issued a draft order in late June in docket 18-141 (see 1906190044). The new order allows CLECs to continue to buy the UNE transport from ILECs for the next six months, and gives them three years (concurrently) to transition away from the transport networks or negotiate new business agreements with the ILECs.
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Forbearance is nationwide, with the exception of Puerto Rico. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said he requested an extension to five years for Puerto Rico due to 2017's devastating hurricane.
USTelecom called granting forbearance a step toward "significant network modernization reforms." USTelecom believes its "proposed 18-month transition would have provided sufficient time for existing users to find an alternative or to negotiate a commercial agreement with incumbent carriers," said a spokesperson. It appreciates the agency recognized "the highly competitive nature of this market and its continued commitment to retiring outdated and obsolete legacy rules."
Incompas was lobbying for time long enough for everyone to change business models, Executive Director Chip Pickering told us Tuesday. Even three years might not be long enough for some CLECs if they have to build out their own networks, he said. He said Incompas will continue to work with the FCC to help minimize the adverse effects on small, rural CLECs.
The FCC also said last week it has a separate draft forbearance order on circulation. It would grant ILECs relief from a requirement to provide CLECs access to analog voice-grade copper loops on an unbundled basis at regulated rates and to offer for resale at regulated rates services that ILECs sell at retail (see 1907020058).