[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55111-55112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20466]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 51

[WC Docket No. 04-313, CC Docket No. 01-338; FCC 04-179]


Unbundled Access to Network Elements; Review of the Section 251 
Unbundling Obligations of Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Interim requirements.

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SUMMARY: The Commission establishes interim requirements and details a 
12-month transition plan governing competing carriers' unbundled access 
to incumbent local exchange carriers' (LECs') network elements. These 
requirements extend for an interim period the effectiveness of existing 
contracts between carriers to avoid disruption in the 
telecommunications industry while new rules are being written pursuant 
to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking simultaneously issued by the 
Commission.

DATES: Effective September 13, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for further filing 
instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian Dillner, Attorney, Competition 
Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-1191, or at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order 
in WC Docket No. 04-313 and CC Docket No. 01-338, adopted July 21, 
2004, and released August 20, 2004 (Order). The complete text of this 
Order is available for inspection and copying during normal business 
hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. This document may also 
be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy 
and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554, telephone 1-800-378-3160. It is also available on 
the Commission's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov.

Synopsis of the Order

    1. Interim Requirements. The pressing need for market certainty as 
the Commission works to issue final unbundling rules warrants the 
implementation of a plan to ensure stability in the interim. This Order

[[Page 55112]]

therefore requires incumbent LECs to continue providing unbundled 
access to switching, enterprise market loops, and dedicated transport 
under the same rates, terms and conditions that applied under their 
interconnection agreements as of June 15, 2004. These rates, terms, and 
conditions shall remain in place until the earlier of the effective 
date of final unbundling rules promulgated by the Commission or six 
months after Federal Register publication of the Order, except to the 
extent that they are or have been superseded by (1) voluntarily 
negotiated agreements, (2) an intervening Commission order affecting 
specific unbundling obligations (e.g., an order addressing a pending 
petition for reconsideration), or (3) (with respect to rates only) a 
State public utility commission order raising the rates for network 
elements.
    2. Transition Plan. As mentioned above, the document also sets 
forth a transition plan to govern the six months following the initial 
period described above, in the absence of a Commission ruling that 
switching, enterprise market loops and/or dedicated transport must be 
made available pursuant to section 251(c)(3) in any particular case. 
First, in the absence of a Commission ruling that switching is subject 
to unbundling, an incumbent LEC shall only be required to lease the 
switching element to a requesting carrier in combination with shared 
transport and loops (i.e., as a component of the ``UNE platform'') at a 
rate equal to the higher of (1) the rate at which the requesting 
carrier leased that combination of elements on June 15, 2004, plus one 
dollar, or (2) the rate the State public utility commission 
establishes, if any, between June 16, 2004, and six months after 
Federal Register publication of this Order, for this combination of 
elements, plus one dollar. Second, in the absence of a Commission 
ruling that enterprise market loops and/or dedicated transport are 
subject to section 251(c)(3) unbundling in any particular case, an 
incumbent LEC shall only be required to lease the element at issue to a 
requesting carrier at a rate equal to the higher of (1) 115% of the 
rate the requesting carrier paid for that element on June 15, 2004, or 
(2) 115% of the rate the State public utility commission establishes, 
if any, between June 16, 2004, and six months after Federal Register 
publication of this Order, for that element. With respect to all 
elements at issue here, this transition period shall apply only to the 
embedded customer base, and does not permit competitive LECs to add new 
customers at these rates. As during the interim period, carriers shall 
remain free to negotiate alternative arrangements (including rates) 
superseding our requirements (and State public utility commission 
rates) during the transition period. Subject to the comments requested 
in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, released 
simultaneously but summarized separately, we intend to incorporate this 
second phase of the plan into our final rules.

Congressional Review Act

    3. The Commission will not send a copy of this Order pursuant to 
the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). This Order 
does not promulgate new rules, but rather extends for an interim period 
the effectiveness of existing contracts between carriers, which are 
based on vacated Commission rules, until the Commission develops final 
rules. This Order does not contain a major rule. See 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    4. This Order does not contain new or modified information 
collection(s) subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new 
or modified ``information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4).

Ordering Clause

    5. Accordingly, it is ordered that the interim requirements set 
forth in the Order in WC Docket No. 04-313 and CC Docket No. 01-338 
shall be effective immediately upon publication in the Federal 
Register.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-20466 Filed 9-10-04; 8:45 am]
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