The FCC took action to relieve incumbent local telephone companies of most obligations to lease advanced fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network facilities to competitors at a regulated, cost-based price. Specifically, incumbents are relieved from unbundling requirements for fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) loops, where fiber is extended within 500 feet of a customer's premises. The new rules free companies to choose between FTTH or FTTC networks based on marketplace characteristics, rather than disparate regulatory treatment.
The FCC also clarified that incumbent LECs are not obligated to build time division multiplexing (TDM) capability into new packet-based networks or into existing packet-based networks that never had TDM capability.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said "By limiting the unbundling obligations of incumbents when they roll out deep fiber networks to residential consumers, we restore the marketplace incentives of carriers to invest in new networks. "
In a dissenting statement, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps wrote "Though today's Order speaks in glowing terms about broadband relief, the reality is far less radiant. I don't believe competitive telecommunications have been faring very well under our watch and this particular proceeding strikes me as yet another in a series of prescriptions this Commission is willing to write to end competitive access to last mile facilities. It seems every month brings a new onslaught.. The loop represents the prized last mile of communications. Putting it beyond the reach of competitors can only entrench incumbents who already hold sway. Monopoly control of the last mile created all kinds of problems for basic telephone service in the last century, and now we seem bent on replicating that sad story for advanced services in the digital age."http://www.fcc.gov
- In its Triennial Review Order released last year, the FCC ruled that the broadband capabilities of fiber loops that extend to a customer's premises, also known as FTTH loops, would not be subject to unbundling under section 251 of the Act.
- In August 2004, the FCC issued an order clarifying fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) rules and relieving the incumbent LECs from certain unbundling obligations that apply to multiple dwelling units (MDUs), or apartment buildings. The FCC said its ruling increases the incentives for incumbent LECs to deploy next generation facilities. The order concludes that determining what constitutes a predominantly residential MDU will be based on the dwelling's predominant use. For example, a multi-level apartment building that houses retail stores such as a drycleaner or a mini-mart would be predominantly residential, while an office building that contains a floor of residential suites would not. The Order further clarifies that a loop will be considered a FTTH loop if it is deployed to the minimum point of entry of a predominantly residential MDU, regardless of the ownership of the inside wiring.
