Stuck in the Middle
Qwest straddles regulation field between RBOCs, competitors
By Karen Brown
from the May 21, 2001 issue of Broadband Week
Regulation is no black and white matter for Qwest Communications International.
With its nationwide fiber backbone, Qwest is rolling out DSL service nationwide as a competitor to various local incumbents. At the same time, it is also ramping up DSL services as the ILEC in its 14-state RBOC territory.
That dual nature puts Qwest in a unique and precarious policy position, according to Steve Davis, senior vice president of policy and law.
"What we have told regulators and what we have stuck to is that whatever we say in Miami will be the exact same thing that we will say in Phoenix," Davis says. "We will not take different positions anywhere with respect to what BOCs should be required to do or not required to do where regulations should be, so at least they will know we have gone through the internal balancing of what the various competing interests are."
In its own territory, Qwest does provide competitors access - to a point.
"It's our view that further regulation of the DSL services, particularly as one begins deploying fiber further out in the community and putting DSLAMs further out in the community that technically we are not able to provide the same types of unbundling that we provide at the central office," Davis says. "But we do make room at any remotely deployed cabinet for collocation by any competitor."
If regulators ever did demand Qwest open its own DSLAMs to competitors "what would happen is you would just stop deployment of those services," he adds.
Getting fiber closer to the curb also opens the possibility of adding video service to the mix, but that is another area of regulatory quicksand. If Qwest does decide to expand its VDSL television service beyond its Phoenix and south metro Denver trials, it first will have to sort out whether it should be designated as a Title 6 service, like cable TV operations are, or as a Title 2 service, meaning telecommunications. "I'm not sure how that all sorts out in the end," Davis says.
As other RBOCs also begin venturing from their native territories to offer DSL services, they may have to move toward similar middle ground. But for now, Qwest's more centrist policies run into conflict with its fellow RBOCS. Davis points out Qwest recently filed comments with the FCC on the issue of collocation countering arguments made by its fellow Bells.
"We were in agreement to the competitors and replying to the arguments made by the other BOCs," Davis says. "I think we'll see more of that as time goes on. You will certainly see more of Qwest taking positions that are not the same positions taken by Verizon, SBC and BellSouth."
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