FCC chairman says no to data relief: Offers details on data subsidiary scheme

Addressing the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners last week, two Federal Communications Commissioners voiced their opinions on data relief and unbundling.

"I find no exception in the act for data as opposed to voice," said FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, who reiterated the importance of meeting the 14-point checklist.

Later, Commissioner Gloria Tristani said that while Bell regional holding companies should not be allowed to offer regionwide long-distance data, a more limited form of relief might be permissible.

In a phone interview, U S West Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Kathleen Q. Abernathy speculated that the FCC might accept new LATA boundaries for data services to address RHC concerns that current policies create broadband islands.

Bell Atlantic, for example, has complained that West Virginia cannot connect its high-speed network to the Internet at full speed because no Internet backbone provider has appropriate facilities there and Bell Atlantic cannot construct them.

Kennard also offered details on his proposed plan to exempt incumbents from unbundling or reselling data network elements if they do it through a separate subsidiary.

"A competitive market for advanced services depends upon strict enforcement of the incumbent's unbundling obligations when it comes to the basic underlying elements," said Kennard, citing collocation and unbundled loops as examples of such elements.

But if an incumbent's data subsidiary installs a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) under the same conditions offered to competitive local exchange carriers, it would not be required to let CLECs connect to the DSLAM-unless the DSLAM were used to support switched services on an integrated basis with data.

That could restrict incumbents' ability to use DSL to support circuit-switched voice and data over the same line. Incumbents likely will argue that such restrictions favor CLECs.

Although most CLEC DSL deployments have involved data only, some have begun to use it for voice and data, said Frank Weiner, vice president and general manager of Paradyne's DSL division.

Formal comments from all five commissioners are expected this week.

Competitive local exchange carrier Nextlink announced that it is expanding its deployment plans to include the nation's top 30 markets-or 27 million addressable business lines-by the end of 2000.

Broadband wireless CLEC Winstar Communications has obtained dark fiber capacity in and between several major markets from Metromedia Fiber Network, furthering its plan to serve the top 40 U.S. markets.