All five of the FCC Commissioners have signed a letter urging the nation's telecommunications carriers and trade associations to begin a period of "good faith" commercial negotiations on UNE-p resale rates. FCC Commissioners are encouraging the parties to utilize all means at their disposal, including a third-party mediator, to maximize the success of this effort.
To provide additional time for these negotiations, the FCC intends to petition the D.C. Circuit for a 45-day extension of the stay of its decision vacating its unbundling rules. The FCC will also request an extension of the deadline for seeking Supreme Court review.
The FCC has previously been split 3-2 on the issue of UNE-p unbundling rules. For this announcement, all five Commissioners agreed "to come together with one voice to send a clear and unequivocal signal that the best interests of America's telephone consumers are served by a concerted effort to reach a negotiated arrangement. "
Industry reaction:
SBC Communications said it is "greatly encouraged that the FCC sees the value in business- to-business negotiations and mutually acceptable, commercial agreements as a preferable alternative to government-mandated and -managed competition for consumers. " The company noted that it made an identical offer to wholesale customers three weeks ago.
AT&T said it "welcomes any opportunity to negotiate a fair, economically viable agreement with the Bell companies for access to the facilities they control." However, the company noted that "any such talks are inherently difficult given that the Bell companies control the sole supply of a needed good."
CompTel/ASCENT, which represents competitive carriers, accepted the FCC's request to enter negotiations but said it "is vital that the process governing these negotiations is transparent, so that all competitive carriers - large and small alike - are afforded the same considerations in a non-discriminatory fashion."
The Communications Workers of America, a trade union, applauded the FCC's move to encourage a negotiated settlement, saying the current policy has only stifled the rollout of broadband. http://www.fcc.gov
- In early March, a three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the FCC's Triennial Review Order with regard to network unbundling rules. The FCC rules, which were announced in February 2003 but actually issued in August 2003, empowered state public utility commissions as the decision makers on issues regarding UNE-P unbundling and local competition. The Court of Appeals said the FCC erred by not providing unified, federal guidelines and by pushing many FCC decisions to the states. The court also upheld the Triennial Review Order's exemption provided to incumbent carriers from unbundling for certain fiber-fed loops and for line sharing. The ruling was applauded by ILECs but condemned at CLECs.
- One day after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the FCC's Triennial Review Order with regard to network unbundling rules, SBC Communications issued a public offer to AT&T, MCI and other competitors, inviting the companies "to negotiate commercially reasonable UNE-P wholesale rates ."
