February 16, 1998
Pending FCC proposal could give ISPs access to local loop
By Bob O'Donnell
Tired of waiting for high-speed Web access? A recent proposal from the FCC could have a
dramatic impact on how quickly ISPs can deploy fast access technologies, such as DSL.
For many people, the telecommunications industry is something of a mystery. In part
because of the enormous amount of government regulations that the business must comply
with, the telecom industry is a confusing mess of terminology describing services,
products, capabilities, regulations, and limitations that only a handful of people (mostly
lawyers) can understand.
This confusion means that some important developments may go unreported. Take, for
example, the proposed rule change that the FCC released a couple of weeks ago for public
comment. This change addresses how ISPs might interact with the existing
telecommunications companies that own and maintain the local phone connections.
Specifically, this document (officially called "Computer III Further Remand
Proceedings: Bell Operating Company Provision of Enhanced Services; 1998 Biennial
Regulatory Review-Review of Computer III and ONA Safeguards and Requirements" and can
be found here,
asks whether ISPs should have the same access to "unbundled network elements"
that new local phone companies get from the existing regional Bell operating companies
following the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (Phone company terminology labels new local
phone companies as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, and existing phone companies in
the local business as Incumbent Local Exchange carriers. At present, only companies that
provide telephone service have complete access to unbundled services.)
These "unbundled network elements" are essentially the connections and
equipment needed to provide local phone service. They include access to what's called the
"local loop," the copper, twisted pair lines that connect your office or home to
the phone company's central phone switches.
If the changes are enacted, ISPs could be given access to the highly coveted local
loop. With that access, ISPs could install their own equipment just ahead of these main
switches and offer high-speed data services, such as DSL, over the existing local loop
lines without having to wait for the phone companies, which have little incentive to move
quickly, to put together the infrastructure themselves.
Such a change could greatly speed up the implementation of high-speed access
technologies to homes and businesses throughout the United States. Unfortunately, much of
this important information is buried within the rather cryptic new FCC proposal and might
easily be overlooked by ISPs (who may not closely follow the actions of the FCC). Because
this particular document is actually based on some proposals made more than 12 years ago
that have been caught up in the legal system for the last decade, it would be particularly
easy to miss it. (I certainly would have, had I not been informed of its existence by an
FCC attorney who read last week's column on
my frustration with the slow deployment of faster Internet access technologies.)
Now that it's available, however, ISPs and other interested parties should make their
opinions known soon because the FCC bases many of its decisions on public comments. The
deadline for comments is March 27 and the replies to those comments must be submitted by
April 23. Unfortunately, submitting comments is a tedious process that involves making
multiple copies and mailing them to several different Washington addresses. A detailed
explanation of exactly how to submit comments can be found near the end of the document.
Many parties inside and outside the telecommunications industry have complained about
how little impact the Telecommunications Act and related developments have really had on
the marketplace. But with this one change, the FCC could help open up opportunities that
the ISP community could turn into some tremendously useful (and speedy) benefits to us
all.
Copyright 1998, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of IDG Communications,
Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld, 155 Bovet Road, San
Mateo, CA 94402. Further reproduction is prohibited.
