Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dug who wrote (11940)	7/7/1998 8:20:00 PM
From: Chemsync	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21342

Thanks for the lead to a very pertinent thread, Dug. You may be interested in the following story too. <<That deadline is Aug. 8. If the commission determines that these services are not being deployed in a timely fashion, the Act states that the FCC "shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment>> Dug, Got some ideas what 'immediate action to accelerate' means to the FCC? :-) July 07, 1998 More Bandwidth Through Deregulation, Local Carriers to Argue at FCC Hearing By Elizabeth The Federal Communications Commission, in its mission to see companies offer greater bandwidth to more Americans, is being asked to decide just where telephone service ends and data service begins. Three of the nation's regulated-monopoly local telephone carriers have petitioned the commission to waive federal rules restricting them from offering long-distance data service to local phone customers. Two of the companies, US West Communications Group and Ameritech, are expected to plead their cases Thursday during a broadly based FCC hearing on bandwidth issues. Those companies, along with Bell Atlantic, have requested the waiver under a loophole in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which dictates that the FCC and state commissions with regulatory jurisdiction over telecom services shall encourage the deployment of high-speed, switched, broadband telecom services. Under current federal law, no regional Bell may offer long-distance service in its region until it passes a special review by an FCC panel to see whether the company has opened up its local networks to competition. So far, no Bell has passed that test. And current FCC regulation of the local telephone companies doesn't differentiate between voice and data traffic. One FCC staff member called the task of distinguishing between them for regulatory purposes as "humongous." The hearing Thursday before the entire commission is the first step in tackling the question of how to bring more bandwidth to the American people, according to FCC officials. Under the Telecom Act, the FCC is charged with initiating a "notice of inquiry" regarding the availability of high-speed data services within 30 months after the law went into effect. That deadline is Aug. 8. If the commission determines that these services are not being deployed in a timely fashion, the Act states that the FCC "shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition in the telecommunications market." Congress didn't specify what those "immediate actions" should be. The carriers say they would be encouraged to invest in high-speed networks by a relaxation of regulations that include provisions requiring the companies to lease parts of their service to competitors at discounted rates. Currently, the local carriers must lease access to their telephone networks to ISPs and other telecommunications companies at wholesale prices so that those companies can then sell service to consumers at competitive rates. In the FCC petitions, the three local carriers argue that, if they build high-speed data networks, they should not be subject to such regulations because they would be competing in a market with scores of new players. They also argue that they need a financial incentive to build the networks and that can not be realized if they have to sell service to competitors at wholesale prices. "The whole petition is about relief from what we see as disincentives to our ability and willingness to roll out high-speed data networks," said Dave Pacholczyk, spokesman for Ameritech, which will be arguing this position at the FCC hearing. But companies that compete with the carriers to provide Internet services are urging the commission to turn down the requests, suggesting that such a grant would allow the local carriers to extend their local-access monopoly to the Internet. "To me, the stakes are fundamental. It would turn back the clock to 1983," said Ronald Plesser, an attorney with Piper & Marbury of Washington, D.C, which represents the Commercial Internet Exchange, a consortium of 150 Internet service providers. "We'd have great technology but it would be controlled by a limited number of people." CIX argues that Internet competition and innovation is best served through the current regulatory structure, under which smaller players have access to parts of the local exchange carriers' networks so that they can compete with the carriers' Internet services on an equal footing. At the hearing Thursday, the FCC will hear from panels of experts regarding bandwidth issues in the "last mile" of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure and in connectivity to and between small and rural communities. The panelists will also address how these issues impact the deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities and broadband technologies in the United States. Among those who will testify are representatives from cable, satellite and wireless companies, in addition to those from traditional telecommunications companies. Marcelino Ford-Livene, the FCC's point man for new media issues, said the hearing is about "vision, status, cost and barriers." "We're basically trying to solicit feedback, tee up some issues and get people to respond to these issues," Ford-Livene said. FCC Chairman William Kennard has stated recently in regard to rolling out high-speed data services that companies shouldn't be burdened by unnecessary regulation but that competitors must be protected from a small number of dominant companies exerting market influence. No decisions on the three local carrier petitions will be made at the hearing. Mentioned in this article PEOPLE William Kennard Chairman, Federal Communications Commission COMPANIES Ameritech Chicago, IL Bell Atlantic New York, NY Piper & Marbury Baltimore, MD