https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Services Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Information Center
    • 2021 MSP 501 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Top Gun 51
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Services Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Information Center
    • 2021 MSP 501 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Top Gun 51
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


FCC Triennial Review Likely a Prelude to Litigation

  • Written by Channel
  • December 11, 2002

An appeal is highly likely once the Federal Communications Commission (www.fcc.gov) issues an order governing a local telephone resale platform that has sparked a nationwide debate packed with rhetoric and lopsided views.


The FCC could issue its order in February after it completes it Triennial Review, but lawyers say in all likelihood the agency will not be the final word on the unbundled network element – platform (UNE-P).


“I would say under virtually any scenario . we are probably talking about a multiyear process before which whatever rules we end up with would be final” and not be appealed, said Genevieve Morelli, a telecom lawyer for Kelley, Drye & Warren LLC (www.kelleydrye.com) and the spokesperson for the UNE-P-centric PACE (Promoting Active Competition Everywhere, www.pacecoalition.org) Coalition.


An Appeals Court decision could take a year or more, and that decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court. Furthermore, a Supreme Court decision could take more than a year if the judges decided to hear the case, Morelli said.


If an Appeals Court reversed part of the FCC’s order, that order also could be sent back to the government agency, the lawyer said.


Once the FCC makes its decision, parties could seek to stay the order until an Appeals Court made a ruling. Under the law plaintiffs must prove there would be “irreparable harm” short of a stay, Morelli said.


Brad Ramsey, general counsel of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (www.naruc.org), said it is likely an appeal would go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.


“In the best of all possible worlds no matter what the order is you are looking at two years to two years and six months before the minimum litigation is completed,” Ramsey added. “The more specific the order is, I think, the greater the prospect for reversal.”


The UNE-P platform has created perhaps the largest telecom-related regulatory dilemma for the FCC this year. Facing increasing competition in the local phone market, the Bell companies are seeking to remove the UNE-P because they say it requires them to lease their local networks to rivals at a loss and discourages investment in new technology.


Competitors say they need access to the platform until they can gain enough customers in an area to justify a network investment. In fact, rivals of the Baby Bells said Wednesday residential and small business customers as well as incumbent central offices used to link the telephone lines to them are so dispersed that they hinder phone competitors from achieving enough scale to justify an investment.


But Dorothy Atwood, senior vice president for federal regulatory strategy at SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com), the No. 2 local phone provider, balked at that argument, noting that competitive switches have been deployed at most of the company’s facilities.


Consequently, SBC is seeking to remove switching from the platform on a nationwide basis. If the FCC found justification for the incumbents’ argument that phone companies are not impaired without switches and removed them, CLECs are likely to appeal the decision. 


Lawyers say the Bells also are likely to litigate unless they get what they are asking for.


But there is another powerful group likely to join the fray if the FCC issues national rules that leave state utility commissioners out of the decision-making process: the states, themselves. State regulators, who set the prices for particular network elements such as loops and switching under the UNE-P, insist they should play a role in determining where phone companies are  –  and are not  –  impaired.


In a letter NARUC addressed last month to the FCC, 80 state regulators from 34 states called on the federal agency to not obstruct them from playing a continuing role in upholding and setting policies pertaining to local phone competition.


If the FCC took the most extreme position limiting the states’ involvement, “I would be very surprised if NARUC didn’t appeal,” Ramsey said.


But Ramsey said he does not believe that is what will happen.


“That is the least likely outcome,” he said. “I believe there will be a state role” and “it will not be a minor one.”


However, Atwood said the FCC is obligated to take the lead role.


It is SBC’s position that “the FCC really doesn’t have the discretion to say, `States you go and determine where there is impairment.’ . It’s our position that the (1996 Telecommunications) Act is clear that that’s a federal decision,” said Atwood, the former wireline bureau chief for the FCC.




Tags: Agents Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Most Recent


  • focus a camera
    Knowledge 2022: ServiceNow Focused on Partner Experience to Drive Growth
    ServiceNow will roll out a reimagined partner program early next year.
  • trophy
    Verizon, AT&T Among Avaya Partner of the Year Award Winners
    Who was awarded the overall U.S. Partner of the Year for total growth?
  • Q&A
    Ingram Micro Talks AWS Partnership Success, CloudBlue, MSPs, Cybersecurity, More
    “AWS and Ingram are doing all the right things to develop partners’ competency," said Ingram Micro's executive director, cloud services.
  • Woman on phone
    Ooma Office Pro Plus Promises Simple Call Center Setup, More
    Ooma Office already comes with more than 50 features.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Woman with questions
    Should We Just Call Master Agents Distributors?
  • Benefit, Plus Sign
    TBI, Avant Add New Cloud, Security Suppliers to Lineups
  • CIO
    ScanSource Hires New CIO to Lead Global IT Strategy
  • Select a Hire
    Telarus Hires Megapath, Fusion Connect Vet Dan Foster as Latest CRO

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Europe

June 14, 2022 - June 15, 2022

MSP Summit

September 13, 2022 - September 16, 2022

Galleries

View all

‘An Era Has Ended’: Inside the $61 Billion Broadcom-VMware Deal Rocking the Software Industry

May 26, 2022

Knowledge 2022: ServiceNow Focused on Partner Experience to Drive Growth

May 26, 2022

The Gately Report: Cybereason Helps MSSPs Provide Unified Security, Details Massive Espionage Ring

May 26, 2022

Industry Perspectives

View all

Increased Cybersecurity Vulnerability = Increased MSP Opportunities

May 25, 2022

Leverage Your MSP’s People Power

May 24, 2022

How SD-WAN Helps Secure the Expanding Network Perimeter

May 19, 2022

Webinars

View all

Simplifying SaaS Security for MSPs

April 27, 2022

How to Supercharge The Network to Support Your IT Superhero Moves

May 3, 2022

The 2022 MSP Challenge: Scale Service Delivery Despite the Talent Gap

April 21, 2022

White Papers

View all

Work Goes Remote – (and Other Top ITOps Trends)

May 25, 2022

The New Bottom Line: How MSPs Can Meet the Healthcare Crisis While Evolving Their Businesses

April 19, 2022

How to build a Security Operations Center (on a budget)

April 4, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

AT&T, Microsoft, Cisco, ThreatLocker on Unlocking Partner Potential

Agents Share ‘Secrets,’ Industry Opportunity

May 11, 2022

Vonage Addresses Potential Partner Opportunity via Acquisition by Ericsson

May 5, 2022

Lumen Technologies ‘Built for Growth and Scale’

May 4, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@Lacework lays off 20% of workforce. #cloudsecurity dlvr.it/SR7Jsl https://t.co/Mg3OVXHAhe

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

#Know22: @ServiceNow focused on transforming #partnerexperience to foster more growth. dlvr.it/SR7Hbj https://t.co/J1BhmT3OzS

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

Departing @msPartner exec @rodneyc55 to become @johnsoncontrols chief commercial officer. dlvr.it/SR7HZN https://t.co/v0eVGBMKbQ

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

Everyone's talking about the massive Broadcom-VMware deal. @AnuragTechaisle, @Dataprise, @Carousel_Ind, @imlazar an… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

Our latest Gately Report features @cybereason on MSSPs and growth, @Hornetsecurity acquisition, @marketsandmarkets… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

“The ‘on premises versus cloud’ debate is dead” @DellTech @DellTechUK @DayneTurbitt explains the opportunity for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@Broadcom's acquisition of @VMware comes as the chipmaker reports that infrastructure software accounted for 23% o… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 26, 2022
ChannelFutures

Are your #MSP clients struggling to handle their cybersecurity vulnerability? #cybersecurity #cyberthreats… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 25, 2022

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X