Appeals court grants stay in UNE case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today granted petitions to postpone the effective date of its March ruling that would eliminate most rules governing unbundled network elements by 45 days.

All parties in the case expressed support for the stay extension, so the decision was expected. With the extended deadline, the effective date of the appeals-court ruling will be delayed from May 3 to June 15. In turn this provides the Solicitor General more time to recommend whether the Supreme Court should hear an appeal, which the FCC already has filed.

Last Friday, the FCC filed a petition asking for the stay to facilitate a 45-day period for competitive carriers and incumbents to negotiate commercial UNE deals that would remove the uncertainty of litigation from the industry.

To date, there has been only one announced deal—a seven-year agreement between SBC Communications and rural CLEC Sage Telecom. However, this deal has been a source of controversy, because state regulators and consumer groups have argued that the deal should be filed with affected states, subject to public scrutiny and available to other CLECs under "pick and choose" guidelines.

SBC has maintained the contract is not available for pick and choose, which allows CLECs to sign deals based on parts of agreements with other CLECs. SBC plans to file appropriate portions of the contract with states, but part of the agreement "goes beyond the Telecom Act" and does not have to be filed, according to SBC spokesman Dave Pacholczyk.