[opendtv] The other half of the story
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 10:59:27 -0400
The timing of this article could not have been better. Just
yesterday there was an article about not regulating VoIP
telephony as telco telephony is regulated, and here the FCC
is holding off its decision on unbundling the local loop.
Where's all the talk about allowing for "disruptive
technolgies" now?
If telcos want to deploy fiber closer to or directly to
homes, in part to offer (H)DTV services, exactly as cable
companies have done, they should be able to reap the
benefits of their investment, exactly as cable companies
are allowed to do.
It works both ways. It makes no sense any longer to
artificially differentiate one cabled network from the
other (cable TV systems vs telcos). They should both be able
to compete on a level playing field. If anything, one ought
to wonder why only two local "utilities" are permitted to
tear up streets to install their wired networks, and not
three, four, or n.
Conversely, allow only one utility to do so, regulate that
utility strictly, and allow only independent service
providers to make use of the broadband infrastructure.
(I don't see today's FCC taking this position, yet it seems
to be leaving this option open only in relation to telco
local loops.)
Bert
--------------------------------------
Verizon's exec rips FCC's ruling delays
Paul Kapustka, Advanced IP Pipeline
Aug 25, 2004 (9:00 AM)
URL: http://www.commsdesign.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D30900074
ASPEN, Colo. - According to Verizon vice chairman and president
Lawrence Babbio, the nation's biggest phone companies are tired of
waiting for the FCC to implement clear line-sharing rules, so
they're taking the commission to court - again.
"Time's up," said Babbio, during his keynote speech Tuesday at the
Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit conference,
explaining why Verizon and Qwest filed suit Monday in a federal
appeals court to force the FCC to come up with definitive rules on
the line-sharing, or "unbundling" situation, rather than delay the
decision for another six months, as the FCC declared it would do
last week.
The lawsuit is just the latest chapter in the unbundling saga,
which began when the 1996 Telecom Act included provisions forcing
incumbent local service providers like Verizon to open up their
local loops to competitors, at rates determined by regulators.
Since the Act's inception, the unbundling argument has continued
apace; earlier this year the FCC's latest attempt to implement the
rules was shot down by the courts, prompting the commission to
issue a ruling last week that attempted to buy more time to figure
out a workable implementation.
For the FCC to come out with a rule that protects the status quo
and doesn't clearly stipulate what might happen in the future was
unacceptable for companies like Verizon, said Babbio. Such a rule,
he said, would put the companies in the position of risking
investments in physical infrastructure without any guarantees on
being able to control the returns on those investments.
"The real reason [for the latest lawsuit] is that the FCC hasn't
done their job for the last eight years," Babbio said. "After
eight years, they still haven't gotten it right. And we'll haul
them back to court every time."
That Babbio and Verizon disagree with the basic premise of
unbundling was made clear during his keynote speech, which
centered mostly on Verizon's strategy of building fiber networks
directly to consumer and business premises, a business decision
that involves a great amount of risk, Babbio said.
"There has to be no unbundling of newer broadband networks,"
Babbio said. "Why apply logic that was irrational in the first
place to fiber, which is a high-risk business? It only destroys
[business] incentive [to invest]."
Babbio also called for a national policy on broadband services,
as well as no "economic regulation" on new broadband services.
"It would accelerate our fiber to the premises rollout if we
had those [conditions]," Babbio said. "And there are a lot of
new applications, some we don't even know of yet, that are
waiting in the wings [for faster bandwidth]."
Babbio said Verizon's fiber rollout signed up its first paying
customer in Keller, Texas, on Monday, a date he said might be a
"tipping point" for a faster broadband future. Verizon, he said,
still plans to pass 1 million homes with its fiber rollout this
year, and will soon announce six more states where the company
will deploy fiber, with a goal of passing 2 million homes by
2005.
"We're a little concerned about the [regulatory] uncertainty,
but we're optimistic," Babbio said. "If broadband expansion
stalls, it could be because we're unable to let go of the
regulatory incentives of the past. But we're betting that won't
happen."
Copyright 2003 CMP Media
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