Forbearance and the Battle Over U.S. Broadband Access

XO CEO Offers His Perspective

The U.S. Congress has taken action against one of the most onerous provisions of the forbearance statute by proposing H.R. 3914, a bill that would eliminate “deemed granted” regulation by default. But even without deemed granted, many problems would remain.

ILECs can file petitions to initiate regulatory proceedings that push their own agendas, and set a fixed timetable that regulators must adhere to.

ILECs are not bound by deadlines for submitting data. Late filings are common and limit time for adequate analysis and response by interested parties and regulators.

Even when petitions are denied, ILECs may file and re-file, using the same supporting data already rejected by the commission, and consuming enormous resources of the FCC and competitors.

Adding to the confusion is the issue of how “cut the cord” wireless data should be used to assess competitive inroads into the ILECs’ base. When the ILECs present “cut the cord” statistics, they gloss over the fact that this data applies only to residential customers, and overplay its significance. In fact, wireless doesn’t compete with wireline in the enterprise market at all, and businesses never “cut the cord.” For that matter, even in the residential market, five out of six customers continue to rely on their traditional wireline connection.

To be accurate and meaningful, competitive analysis of “cut the cord” data must be product- and segment-specific. Wireless inroads in the residential market are not representative of the enterprise, broadband or wholesale markets.

Needed: Policy Ensuring America’s Broadband Future

The 14 nations that lead the United States in broadband access all leverage their legacy networks to deliver broadband. The United States, which has fallen from fourth place in 2001 to fifth place this year, according to OECD findings, stands out as an anomaly for allowing incumbents to cannibalize priceless copper infrastructure and limit access to the last mile.

On the world stage, the competitive approach to broadband access is the clear winner. To ensure that America’s future broadband capabilities are world-class, lawmakers and policymakers need to take action.

Congress should encourage the FCC to amend its rules to protect copper legacy infrastructure as a valuable broadband resource, and to ensure the forbearance process is used properly.

Carl J. Grivner is CEO of XO Communications.

Related Article:

FCC Denies Qwest Forbearance Request

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines