USA - Telecommunications - Regulatory Environment

Synopsis

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 aimed to inject competition into the local telecommunications sector, but the RBOCs fought the provisions with such success that the Act’s unbundling provisions were rendered largely ineffective. In addition, the FCC has ruled that the extensive fibre networks being deployed nationwide will not be subject to mandatory access provisions. Moreover, the regulator has sanctioned several mega-mergers leading to the most concentrated US telcos market since AT&T was broken up in 1984. However, in late 2008 President-elect Obama indicated his support for a network neutrality law and for stronger enforcement of antitrust policy. Similarly, under its newly appointed Chairman, Julius Genachowski, the FCC is expected to focus on fostering new entry, wireless broadband access, an Internet user bill of rights and possibly, on improved access to the telco incumbents’ fixed networks. This report provides an overview of the US telecommunications regulatory framework including key regulatory issues arising from the emergence of VoIP and from convergence with the broadcasting industry.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
  
• 2. Analysis
  
  • 2.1 Unbundling
    
    • 2.1.1 Battle began in the late 1980s
      
    • 2.1.2 Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) launched in 1996
      
    • 2.1.3 Linesharing abandoned
      
  • 2.2 Net neutrality
    
• 3. US Regulatory environment
  
  • 3.1 Overview
    
  • 3.2 Regulatory authorities
    
  • 3.3 Regulatory milestones – 1969 - 2008
    
  • 3.4 Brief historical overview
    
• 4. The Telecommunications Act 1996
  
  • 4.1 Overview
    
  • 4.2 Key pro-competitive provisions of the Telecom Act
    
    • 4.2.1 Interconnection and unbundling (sections 251 and 252)
      
    • 4.2.2 Universal service (section 254)
      
    • 4.2.3 InterLATA market entry (section 271)
      
    • 4.2.4 Bell company structural separation (section 272)
      
    • 4.2.5 Advanced service deployment (section 706)
      
  • 4.3 Kay market participants
    
    • 4.3.1 IXCs and CLECs
      
    • 4.3.2 RBOCs
      
    • 4.3.3 Cable companies
      
    • 4.3.4 Other regulations/bodies
      
  • 4.4 Impact of the Act
    
    • 4.4.1 Court challenges to the Act
      
    • 4.4.2 RBOCs offering interLATA long-distance
      
    • 4.4.3 Universal service fund
      
• 5. Foreign competition
  
• 6. The FCC and satellite services
  
• 7. Merger and acquisition activity
  
• 8. Access and unbundling
  
  • 8.1 Unbundling network access
    
  • 8.2 RBOCs ordered to share Internet lines
    
  • 8.3 FCC unbundled network triennial review order of 2003
    
  • 8.4 Cable broadband and DSL confirmed as information services
    
• 9. Regulation of converging technologies
  
  • 9.1 VoIP
    
    • 9.1.1 Convergence and the new competitors
      
    • 9.1.2 VoIP regulation
      
  • 9.2 Video and TV
    
    • 9.2.1 Franchise laws
      
    • 9.2.2 TV white spaces
      
• 10. Related reports
  

• Exhibit 1 – Significant telecom de-regulation milestones – 1969 - 2008
• Exhibit 2 – Significant telecom consolidations – 1998 - 2009