FCC 1999 Telecom Rulings

Bell Atlantic-New York’s In-Region Long Distance Application

Approved with major backsliding provisions designed to ensure the Bellcompany sticks to its competitive promises.

December (?)

SBC Communications Inc. and Ameritech Corp. merger (CC Docket No. 98-141)

Approved merger subject to 30 competition-enhancing conditions.

October

Unbundling of Network Elements (CC Docket No. 96-98)

Adopted rules specifying the portions of the nation’s local phonenetworks that incumbents must make available to competitors seeking to provide localtelephone service.

September

Direct Access (IB Docket No. 98-192)

Adopted a policy allowing U.S. users of INTELSAT satellite services tohave direct access to the INTELSAT system.

September

Access Charge Reform (CC Docket No. 96-262)

Revised the rules governing the provision of interstate access servicesby price-cap LECs. Adopted a pricing flexibility framework designed to grant greaterflexibility to price-cap LECs as competition develops.

August

Calling Party Pays (WT Docket No. 97-207)

Adopted a Declaratory Ruling and NPRM to help facilitate the offering ofCPP as an optional wireless service to U.S. consumers.

June

Federal Universal Service High-Cost Support Mechanism (CC Docket Nos.96-45, 96-262)

Adopted the framework for a new, forward-looking, high-cost supportmechanism that will provide support for carriers that don’t meet the definition of a ruraltelephone company.

May

Truth-in-Billing (Report No. 99-72)

Enacted principles and broad guidelines aimed at making it easier forconsumers to read and understand their telephone bills.

April

International Settlements Policy (IB Docket No. 98-148)

Approved sweeping reform of the longstanding international settlementspolicy, deregulating intercarrier settlement arrangements between U.S. carriers andforeign non-dominant carriers on competitive routes.

April

Cable Reform (CS Docket No. 96-85)

Adopted an order implementing provisions of the Telecom Act that reformseveral parts of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992,generally known as the Cable Reform provisions. The order also includes the sunset of theFCC’s role in regulating rates on the cable service programming tier.

March

Access to Long Distance Rate Information (CC Docket No. 96-61)

Ordered that long distance carriers publicly disclose their rates, terms,and conditions of their interstate, domestic, long distance services in at least onelocation during regular business hours. Carriers that have an Internet website also mustpost this information online in a timely and accessible manner.

March

Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Services (CC Docket No. 98-147)

Adopted several measures enabling competitive providers of advancedservices, such as high-speed Internet access, to deploy new technologies faster and morecost-effectively. The order facilitates competitors’ ability to access space in theincumbent’s central office. Adopted rules strengthening collocation requirements andreducing the costs and delays associated with collocation. Required ILECs to make newcollocation arrangements, including cageless and shared collocation, available tocompeting carriers. New entrants will be able to locate all equipment necessary forinterconnection, whether or not such equipment has a switching function.

March

Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism (CC Docket No.96-45)

Adopted two orders to ensure the continued success of this supportmechanism.

March

International Authorization Process (IB Docket No. 98-118)

Streamlined the process for granting Section 214 authorizations toprovide international services and increased the categories of applications eligible forstreamlined processing.

March

Comparably Efficient Interconnection Preapproval Process and NetworkInformation Disclosure Rules (CC Docket Nos. 95-20 and 98-10)

Streamlined CEI and Network Disclosure rules while maintainingprotections against discriminatory practices. The CEI rules ensure that competitive ISPshave access to the underlying basic services that the BOCs use for their own informationservice offerings. Also eliminated certain network information disclosure requirementsmade unnecessary by competition. The FCC declined to eliminate other disclosurerequirements that ensure access to critical network information by carriers, informationservice providers and equipment manufacturers.

March

Dial-Up Internet Traffic (CC Docket Nos. 96-98, 99-68)

Concluded that carriers are bound by their existing interconnectionagreements, as interpreted by state commissions, and thus are subject to reciprocalcompensation obligations within those agreements. Declared that Internet traffic isjurisdictionally mixed and appears to be largely interstate in nature. Preserved the rulethat exempts the Internet and other information services from interstate access charges.This means that those consumers who continue to access the Internet by dialing aseven-digit number will not incur long distance charges when they do so. In an NPRM, theFCC also asked for comment on proposals governing future carrier-to-carrier compensationfor handling this traffic.

February

AT&T Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc. Merger (FCC 99-24)

Approved the transfer application of TCI and AT&T subject toconditions.

February

Payphone Compensation (CC Docket No. 96-128)

Adopted an order addressing payphone compensation issues remanded by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that resolvedcompensation issues for dial-around calls, which allow a consumer to use a long distancecarrier other than the payphone’s presubscribed carrier. Order set a rate of 24 cents percall that long distance companies must pay to owners of payphones for delivery of thesecalls.

February

International Simple Resale (DA 98-2654)

International Bureau approved two carriers’ requests to provide switched,basic services over private lines that are interconnected to the public switched network(also known ISR) between the United States and Hong Kong. As a result, all authorizedcarriers can provide switched services over their facilities-based or resold private linesbetween the United States and Hong Kong.

January