Broadband Transport Market Rules Still Needed, Recent Data Release Flawed, CLECs Say

Competitive LECs want the FCC to protect their access to the business data services market by denying a petition from USTelecom to remove a mandate that incumbent local exchange carriers provide transport network services to CLECs as an unbundled network element. The latest smaller-carrier opposition to USTelecom's petition for forbearance from requiring ILECs unbundle and resell access to some of their networks came in responses posted in docket 18-141 through Tuesday to an April 15 public notice with supplemental BDS data. CLECs contend the data is limited and there was insufficient time to comment.

Last month, USTelecom renewed its request, claiming ILECs shouldn't be forced to sell access at below market rates (see 1905060025). The group also lobbied the regulator last week, per a filing posted Monday. AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications and Verizon, which also sent representatives to that meeting, filed responses to the PN saying there's plenty of competition for data connections. AT&T noted that by 2017, cable companies had deployed service completely bypassing ILEC transport networks to almost 90 percent of the population and households. "There is no doubt that there has been more growth in competition in the intervening 16 months" since Form 477 showed nearly 90 percent of the population and of households had access to cable services with at least 25 Mbps downstream, filed Frontier.

Competitors are unswayed by the new data. Competition in the business-to-business broadband market would be threatened, especially in rural areas, if the FCC grants USTelecom's request, Incompas filed. “It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that cutting off competition from the transport market will raise broadband prices,” said CEO Chip Pickering in a news release.

At around the time of the filing, PNTPx filed an objection to use of what it believes is erroneous data regarding locations served by unbundled network elements (UNEs). The CLEC said now that such data shouldn't be used to justify forbearance or reduced regulation by ILECs’ business data services transport offerings. Sprint noted the short comment period allowed only a cursory examination of the newest statistics.

Meeting last week with staff from the Wireline Bureau, representatives from USTelecom and the big telcos offered alternatives in the event the FCC doesn't fully grant the association's petition. They asked for forbearance from: unbundling requirements for DS1 and DS3 loops in census blocks featuring competition from cable providers that offer service speeds of 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up or counties deemed competitive in the BDS proceeding; unbundling requirements for digital DS0 loops in census blocks featuring competition from a cable provider offering service at 25/3; unbundling requirements for analog DS0 loops nationwide; and Telecom Act Section 251(c) resale obligations nationwide.

"The vast majority of all transport UNEs are purchased in urban areas where BDS demand is heavily concentrated and competition is robust, not in rural" or other places where there's less of an economic case for deploying facilities, Verizon noted.

Incompas wants the FCC to extend from Thursday to May 28 the reply deadline on the April 15 PN. ILEC comments "raised issues and arguments well beyond the scope requested by the PN, "which was expressly limited to transport services," the group said in a filing posted Tuesday. USTelecom didn't comment now.