Wheeler Proposes New Special Access Framework; Three ILEC Practices Targeted in Order
Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed the FCC replace its special access regime with a new "technology-neutral framework," in a draft Further NPRM and tariff order he circulated Thursday for consideration at the agency's April 28 meeting. That was as first reported by Communications Daily, and a longer article in the regular issue being emailed to subscribers tonight will report on the coming order and FNPRM in more detail. Wheeler disclosed the items in a Friday blog post headlined "Out with the Old, In with the New."
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Wheeler wrote that the proposed new framework would cover "business data services," which would be the FCC's new term for special access services. "All BDS services should be governed by the same overarching legal principles," he said, proposing the principles also include promoting competition, incentivizing technology transitions and recognizing marketplace "realities," including by eliminating tariffs. Thursday, the Incompas group of smaller telcos and tech companies and Verizon agreed on some ground rules for special access. The American Cable Association and NCTA last night criticized the agreement.
The tariff order would bar incumbent telco contractual practices that slow the shift from legacy TDM to newer IP-based services. FCC officials said the order would bar all-or-nothing provisions that force special access business customers to buy all their service from a provider's plan, thus limiting their flexibility to pick and choose. They said it would also restrict "shortfall" and "early termination" penalties for customers that don't meet their volume or term commitments. The penalties would be permitted but couldn't be "excessive" -- for instance by being more than the total amount the customer would have paid under the life of the contract.
The draft item wouldn't make a "market power" finding or propose a specific new test for what constitutes a competitive versus a noncompetitive market, and it asks more questions than it makes proposals, said an FCC official, speaking on condition of not being identified by name. But the official said the item would seek comment on looking at the market by product, geography, and customer needs -- for instance, "multilocation customers" needing service in different areas. It would also suggest the business market for lower-bandwidth services below 50 Mbps (legacy DS1s and DS3s) is less competitive than the market for higher-bandwidth fiber services, the official said.