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Did it break the logjam or scratch the surface? That's one question arising from the Federal Communications Commission's move to enable easier access by telecommunications services to office buildings and other multi-tenant units.
One of the more contentious issues that has arisen out of the nation's broadband network buildout has been in serving customers in multi-tenant units (MTUs), pitting the landlords of these big buildings against the upstart CLECs that are angling for equal access to these potential cash cows.
Questions about how, or even if, the Federal Communications Commission should intervene into the multi-tenant marketplace has dogged the commission over the past few years, but it appears it may be a bit closer to resolution of some of the major issues.
In mid-October, the FCC released news that it was taking some action on the matter.
"Facilities-based competition in multi-unit buildings is crucial to promoting consumer choice ... in this item, we have taken several important steps toward eliminating this last hundred-foot bottleneck," FCC chairman William Kennard said in announcing the commission's action.
The FCC addressed a few of the more contentious issues facing the MTU market, but closer scrutiny reveals that much of the commission's action simply scratches the surface. The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the commission also called for will likely be the battleground where most of the main issues are addressed and eventually solved.
First, the FCC banned "exclusive contracts" between property owners and carriers, but only in commercial office buildings. While the step is an important one, most of the exclusive agreements that had miffed the CLECs exist on the residential side of the market. But, as Alan Fishel, a telecommunications attorney and partner with firm Arent Fox explains, the FCC's initial action is just a start.
"I think what they were trying to do is send a signal, saying 'We're going to look seriously at exclusive agreements. We want to take a hard look at it on the residential (side) and make a determination,' " Fishel says.
A second action by the FCC further defined the demarcation point in MTU's, potentially reducing the dependence on ILECs to gain access to building wiring. Another part of the action provided that CLECs have better access to utility-controlled rights-of-way. Still another part of the action allowed for carriers to place equipment without landlord consent on leased areas of the property, similar to the ruling made two years ago with regard to personal satellite dishes.
Alongside these new actions, the commission laid out specific areas where it would seek comments on a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, where Fishel says "the rubber will meet the road."
The Further Notice will attempt to further resolve issues in three distinct areas. First, whether the new ban on exclusive contracts in commercial buildings should extend to residential buildings-where the problem really resides. Second, the commission will seek comment as to its role in barring carriers who "unreasonably prevent" competition in certain buildings. And third, they'll wrestle with the issue of "exclusive marketing agreements," a way that some property owners have developed to give select carriers preference in their buildings without actually signing an exclusive contract.
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