The FCC voted 3-0 to begin a rulemaking to speed the transition from aging copper line networks to modern IP-based networks. The agency hopes the proceeding will free up billions of dollars for new networks, instead of forcing providers to keep investing in old ones.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes and seeks comment on revisions to the Commission’s network change disclosure rules and section 214(a) discontinuance processes to eliminate regulatory barriers and costs. The commissioners stressed that the proceeding will also safeguard consumers’ access to critical emergency services and protect public safety.
The NPRM builds on recent actions taken by the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau. The agency enabled providers to use streamlined procedures more often when they apply to discontinue outdated services over copper lines and offered more flexibility in determining appropriate replacement services. It waived unnecessary “grandfathering” requirements when a provider stopped offering it to new customers and waived costly and “excessive” notice requirements.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said during the vote the NPRM is the first item in the agency’s Build America Agenda to be taken up by the full Commission. “The numbers tell the story of how significant today’s proposed plan could be,” said Carr. “Just one of the communications providers in the country spends around $6 billion a year (yes, you heard that right) to keep its old copper line services running. This is despite the fact that only five percent of its customers still subscribe to copper phone service.”
Carr described a recent visit with Representative Dusty Johnson to Canistota, SD, a town of just about 600 people founded in the 1800s. They visited with “a construction crew that dug up the dirt, pushed aside old copper lines that dated back to the 1970s, and pulled the fiber needed to deliver high-speed service to the town. This fiber pull meant that for the first time the community was served by high-speed internet,” Carr explained.
USTelecom President/CEO Jonathan Spalter praised the vote, saying “the Commission is moving to cut red tape and fast-track the high-speed networks America needs now—not rules written for the era of clunky rotary phones.” He thanked Carr and the agency “for pushing real reform that boosts innovation, fuels investment, and gets more people online, faster. It’s a smart move that puts modern infrastructure—and Americans—first.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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