FCC Draft Targets Tech Transition Copper Retirement Rules, Easing Discontinuances

An FCC draft rulemaking would seek to roll back ILEC technology transition duties in retiring copper networks and simplify the process for discontinuing telecom services under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The draft NPRM, which would also tee up potential actions to facilitate pole attachments, proposes "to remove regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment at the federal, state, and local level; suggests changes to speed the transition from copper networks and legacy services to next-generation networks and services; and proposes to reform Commission regulations that increase costs and slow broadband deployment."

"We propose eliminating some or all of the changes to the copper retirement process adopted by the Commission in the 2015 Technology Transitions Order," said the draft. It would also "propose to streamline applications to discontinue legacy TDM-based voice services where alternative voice services are available to consumers in the affected service area." The 2015 order, approved 3-2 by the then-Democratic majority, took steps to ensure competitors continue to have affordable access to wholesale broadband and voice services as incumbents migrate to IP-based services over fiber networks; it pleased CLECs and disappointed ILECs (see 1508060044).

The draft includes a notice of inquiry on prohibiting state and local broadband barriers, and a request for comment on reversing a "functional test" standard for determining whether network changes trigger Section 214 discontinuance requirements. Commissioners are tentatively scheduled to vote on the wireline infrastructure draft and a wireless infrastructure draft NPRM/NOI at an April 20 meeting (see 1703300060). Chairman Ajit Pai also put a draft business data service (BDS) order and broadcast/media drafts on the meeting's preliminary agenda (see 1703300052 and 1703300066).

Verizon welcomed the wireline infrastructure draft. The company "is encouraged that the FCC has set as a priority creating a regulatory environment that encourages investment in next-generation networks and clears away outdated and unnecessary regulations," said Will Johnson, senior vice president-federal regulatory and legal affairs. "This action is forward-looking, productive and will lead to tangible consumer benefits.”

Public Knowledge said the proposals would take the country backward. The tech transition rules had service safeguards for consumers, "especially the most vulnerable Americans, including the elderly, low-income Americans, and those who have been touched by natural disasters," said PK Vice President Chris Lewis in a statement. "It’s very concerning that Chairman Pai wants to look at weakening those rules and allow companies to lower quality of service or give consumers less time to prepare for a change to basic phone communications. The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Fire Island, NY proved the importance of carefully managing the transition to 21st century IP networks through baseline FCC rules. It would be a shame if this proceeding takes us back to a period of confusion and unreliable service for consumers and small businesses, simply for the sake of deregulation.”

The NPRM would target FCC rules requiring ILECs to provide public notice of network changes affecting competitors. "Changes to these Part 51 rules over the past few years, especially those pertaining to the transition from copper to fiber, appear to unnecessarily extend, rather than expedite, the copper retirement process, 'diverting scarce capital from new networks to old,'" said the draft. "We propose revisions to our Part 51 network change disclosure rules to allow providers greater flexibility in the copper retirement process and to reduce associated regulatory burdens, to facilitate more rapid deployment of next-generation networks. We also seek comment on streamlining and/or eliminating provisions of the more generally applicable network change notification rules.”

The 2015 tech transition rules doubled the time period ILECs must wait to retire copper (after an FCC public notice) from 90 days to 180 days, "required direct notice to retail customers, states, tribal entities, and the Secretary of Defense, and expanded the types of information that must be disclosed," said the draft. It would propose to eliminate Section 51.332 and return to a more streamlined version of the pre-2015 copper retirement requirements. "Our proposal to return to a version of our pre-2015 copper retirement rules would reduce the number of direct notice recipients from 'each entity' to 'each telephone exchange service provider,' and eliminate the other expanded notice requirements from" the tech transition order, the draft said. It would also seek comment on whether to retain some 2015 changes, including an expanded definition of copper retirement to include "de facto retirement.”

The draft called Section 214 the "mother-may-I" of Communications Act Title II, requiring carriers to obtain FCC authorization "before discontinuing, reducing, or impairing service" to communities. It said CenturyLink called exit-approval requirements "among the very most intrusive forms" of regulation. "We propose targeted measures to shorten timeframes and eliminate unnecessary process encumbrances that force carriers to maintain legacy services they seek to discontinue even when more technologically advanced alternatives are available to consumers," said the draft. "The resulting diversion of limited capital from deploying next-generation infrastructure and services harms consumers and carriers alike, and we expect that the changes we propose will mitigate that harm. ... We believe that streamlining discontinuance processing for legacy systems will facilitate carriers’ ability to retire legacy network infrastructure and will accelerate the transition to next generation IP-based networks."