Regulatory News – FCC’s 25 Conditions to Ensure Open Competition
Posted: 08/2000
FCC’s 25 Conditions to Ensure Open Competition
Separate Affiliate for Advanced Services. Bell Atlantic/GTE will create separate affiliates to provide all advanced services in the
combined region.
Surrogate Line Sharing Discount. Bell Atlantic/GTE will provide data CLECs the economic equivalent of “line sharing” by providing them a second loop at a 50 percent discount to provide advanced services to consumers.
Loop Conditioning Charges and Cost Studies. Bell Atlantic/GTE will file cost studies that comply with the FCC’s UNE pricing methodology for conditioning loops.
Nondiscriminatory Rollout of xDSL Services. At least 10 percent of all rural/urban wire centers where the separate affiliate provides xDSL service will be low-income rural/urban wire centers.
Carrier-to-Carrier Performance Plan. Bell Atlantic/GTE will file monthly performance measurement data.
Uniform and Enhanced OSS. Bell Atlantic/GTE will develop application-to-application interfaces, GUIs and business rules that are uniform.
OSS Assistance to Qualifying CLECs. Bell Atlantic/GTE will provide special OSS assistance for CLECs whose annual revenues are less than $300 million.
Collocation, UNE and Line-Sharing Compliance. An independent auditor will determine whether the companies comply with the FCC’s collocation rules.
Most-Favored Nation Provisions. Bell Atlantic/GTE will offer CLECs any new arrangement or UNE secured by a Bell Atlantic/GTE outside of its region.
Multi-State Interconnection and Resale Agreements. Bell Atlantic/GTE will offer CLECs an interconnection and/or resale agreement covering multiple Bell Atlantic and/or GTE states.
Carrier-to-Carrier Promotions. Bell Atlantic/GTE will offer two promotions to CLECs serving residential customers: loop and resale
discounts.
Offering of UNEs. Bell Atlantic/GTE will make UNEs available until the FCC’s UNE Remand and Line-Sharing Orders become final.
Alternative Dispute Resolution through Mediation. Bell Atlantic/GTE will offer CLECs a state-supervised alternative dispute resolution process.
Access to Cabling in Multi-Unit Properties. Bell Atlantic/GTE will conduct a trial to provide CLECs with access at a single point of interconnection to cabling owned or controlled by Bell Atlantic/GTE in multitenant residential and business properties.
Out-of-Territory Competitive Entry. Within three years, Bell Atlantic/GTE will spend a minimum of $500 million to provide competitive local service to at least 250,000 out-of-region
customer lines.
Pricing of Long-Distance Service. Bell Atlantic/GTE will not charge residential consumers a minimum monthly flat charge for long-distance service.
Enhanced Lifeline Plans. Bell Atlantic/GTE will offer a low-income Lifeline universal service plan to low-income residential subscribers.
Additional Service Quality Reporting. Bell Atlantic/GTE will report quarterly on the QoS it provides.
Network Reliability and Interoperability Council. Bell Atlantic/GTE will participate in the NRIC
(www.nric.org).
Internal Compliance Program. Bell Atlantic/GTE must appoint an internal corporate compliance officer.
Independent Auditor. Bell Atlantic/GTE will retain an independent auditor.
Enforcement Mechanisms. The enforcement and compliance programs in no way supercede or replace the FCC’s enforcement and investigative powers.
Sunset. Each condition will generate a full three-year period of benefit.
Effect of Conditions. The conditions do not limit the authority or jurisdiction of state commissions nor do they alter or preempt any other federal statutes, such as the antitrust laws.
Source: Federal Communications Com-mission
(www.fcc.gov)
