FCC Plans to Deregulate UNEs; Rules Irk CLECs, Cheer ILECs
Opponents of an FCC proposal to forbear from imposing unbundling obligations on ILECs said it would harm competition and limit consumer choice. CLECs use ILECs' dark fiber and other unbundled network elements (UNEs) to gain customers before funding fiber deployments, stakeholders commented, posting through Thursday in docket 19-308 (see 1911220052). ILECs backed the NPRM, saying there's enough competition to justify forbearance. California regulators had concerns, as did telcos in areas rebuilding from disasters.
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The FCC should ensure ILECs offer replacements for UNEs from prior proceedings before deciding this proposal, said Uniti Fiber. "The use of DS0 loops and dark fiber cultivates innovation as competitive carriers build out their networks," said Sonic Telecom. Forbearance on unbundled dark fiber "would greatly increase barriers to entry," Windstream said. "Lit fiber services are not an adequate substitute for dark fiber, and alternative sources of dark fiber are not ubiquitous enough."
Due to doubts about reliability, don't use FCC Form 477 data "to justify upending its impairment framework for UNEs," said Incompas. Making sure ILECs offer CLECs UNEs at avoided-cost resale rates "remains critical to disciplining wholesale prices in non-competitive markets," Incompas said. "Forbearance from remaining UNE and resale obligations does not serve the public interest," said Public Knowledge: "Even when CLECs are not actively using UNEs and resale obligations, the availability of these tools to potential future competitors provides an important check on the incumbents' market power."
In most markets, an ILEC is "just one among a field of sparring competitors," said USTelecom. It said UNE and resale obligations "place ILECs at a significant competitive disadvantage" compared with similarly situated rivals. Eliminate dark fiber transport UNE requirements where an ILEC's wire center is within half a mile of competitive fiber, Verizon said. NCTA wants the FCC to ensure plans to eliminate operating support systems (OSS) because of forbearing UNEs won't affect customers' and competitors' abilities to seamlessly port numbers and interconnect networks.
OSS functionality "is of little value when decoupled from UNE ordering and provisioning," CenturyLink said. The company wants the FCC to specify an Aug. 2, 2022, transition date for delisted UNEs from an order. "Requesting carriers have known for a long time that these unbundling rules would not survive forever," AT&T said.
"Competition in the broadband market already exists from non-ILEC service providers," the R Street Institute said. It argued the FCC should extend forbearance for DS0 loops beyond urban census blocks to the entire nation.
"Demand for traditional TDM service is enduring and significant" among residential, business and government customers, said Granite Telecommunications. "Critically, traditional TDM service is line-powered" and doesn't need customer batteries to operate during an electrical outage. "With the recent destruction and devastation caused by wildfires in California, the FCC should not move this NPRM forward without considering public safety and the resiliency of the communications networks," the California Public Utilities Commission said.
Duopoly presence in a market isn't reason enough to grant forbearance to ILECs, Incompas said. Just because cable is there doesn't mean a CLEC entry is feasible, it said. "Like the ILEC, cable has unique advantages from being an historical monopoly," including existing customer relationships, pole attachments, access to rights-of-way and conduit, it said.
WorldNet Telecommunications sought continued access to network unbundling due to Puerto Rico's hurricanes and earthquakes. Puerto Rico Telephone argued removal of UNE obligations would "only serve to foster competition and investment."