ISP Competitors Seek Tougher MTE Rules Opposed by Property Stakeholders

Stakeholders disagree if the FCC should draft new regulations on multi-tenant environment competing broadband services. NPRM comments posted through Tuesday in docket 17-142 (see 1907110015). San Francisco said competing broadband providers can be discouraged from building networks in certain markets or neighborhoods if they can't expect to serve MTE tenants. It wants the FCC to strengthen its prohibition of anti-competitive agreements, such as exclusive wiring arrangements, revenue-sharing agreements, and sale-and-lease-back deals. CenturyLink has seen "worrisome and growing trends" in its attempts to serve MTE residents. It said landlords increasingly sought to monetize access, and when those costs were too high, CenturyLink rejected tenants' request for service. NCTA said cable providers spent hundreds of billions of dollars in the past 20 years deploying broadband, so "be careful not to disrupt the marketplace." Doing so could undermine investment in broadband and video to MTEs, the group said. Without assured access to local MTEs, some competitors may avoid an area, Incompas said. Access "is a significant economic factor for firms in determining their ability to deliver competitive broadband networks to areas that are lacking broadband choice," it said. The association noted mandatory access laws in the San Francisco area allowed fiber provider Sonic to gain entry to over 1,000 buildings to deploy gigabit service. Crown Castle said prohibiting revenue-sharing arrangements could slow broadband deployment because building owners would have less incentive to allow infrastructure installation. "Because many MTEs do not want to deal with carriers directly or negotiate agreements on a carrier-by-carrier basis, they engage experienced neutral host operators to manage and maintain installations of facilities that permit the provision of broadband services," it said. As broadband becomes increasingly wireless, the FCC should "expand its assessment of where broadband services are consumed and the infrastructure needed to deliver them," recommended T-Mobile. The FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee developed a state model code that could inform rules, Uniti Fiber said. RealtyCom Partners opposed a further rulemaking on arrangements between landlords and telecom providers because "the market is functioning well." The National Multifamily Housing Council, with other real estate associations, opposed new regulation as unnecessary and unwise.