Posted: 02/2000
News Briefs
Facing a looming deadline of May 1, state commissions now are considering the contentious issue of how to establish different rates for interconnection and unbundled network elements. The FCC's deadline is part of its implementation requirements for Section 251 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FCC (www.fcc.gov) wants each state commission to establish different rates for interconnection and UNEs in at least three geographic areas within the state to reflect geographic cost differences. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (www.state.sd.us/puc), for example, is one among many considering how to proceed in this matter. The PUC requested written comments on how to establish these different rates, as well as on whether the PUC should issue a rulemaking, or whether different rates must be established for specific companies in contested cases. Expect to see tempers flare over the next few months on this issue.
ALTS (www.alts.org) has named three executives in the competitive local telecom industry to its executive committee. They are Catherine Hapka, chairwoman, CEO and founder of Rhythms NetConnections Inc. (www.rhythms.net); Larissa Herda, president and CEO of Time Warner Telecom Inc. (www.timewarner.com); and Dan Moffat, president, CEO and co-founder of New Edge Networks (www.newedgenetworks.com).
House telecom subcommittee chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) has told FCC Chairman William E. Kennard that if the FCC wants more enforcement powers, it will have to relinquish regulatory powers as a fair trade. Maybe it's coincidence the FCC's Enforcement Bureau is operating at full speed now, while the commission's merger review authority still faces scrutiny from several congressional members.
Concentric Network Corp. (www.concentric.net) is filing to become a CLEC in all 50 states. As a CLEC, Concentric plans to offer its own facilities-based services for offerings such as DSL, to resell existing ILEC services and to purchase ILEC transport services at wholesale rates. "We see this as a key way to reduce our network costs and augment our existing relationships with various DSL providers," says Henry R. Nothhaft, chairman, president and CEO of Concentric Network. "Moreover, this move will enable us to offer new services to our small and mid-sized business customers."
Don Janke, president of Internet Ventures Inc. (www.ivn.net), has been meeting with FCC staffers to discuss his company's pending petition supporting leased cable access for Internet video programmers and ISPs. During these meetings, the FCC asked whether Internet Ventures' proposal for cable leased access would require capital expenditures by cable systems providing such access and whether any system upgrades would be necessary. Janke says no such expenditure for cable upgrades will be required; upstream traffic would be transported from each subscriber back to the Internet by means of standard telephone or ISDN lines.
The FCC also faces pressure from local regulators, the courts and Congress to take affirmative action ensuring access to cable facilities by ISPs unaffiliated with the cable operators. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), the ranking minority member of the House Commerce Committee (www.house.gov/commerce), has questioned the FCC's inaction and failure to scrutinize the technical and economic arguments of this issue. Congressman Dingell says this issue involves "enormous stakes ... with respect to both competition and consumer welfare."
