FCC removes requirement for analogue voice-grade, copper loop unbundling [telecom]

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2019 - Recognizing sweeping changes over the past two decades in the market for voice telephone service, the Federal Communications Commission issued an Order today granting certain local phone companies relief from two 1996-era regulatory obligations that no longer serve their intended purpose.

Specifically, the FCC granted certain legacy telephone companies (called price cap incumbent local exchange carriers (LEC)) relief from outdated and burdensome requirements from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 designed to foster competition in the market for local telephone service - (1) a requirement they offer competitors "analog voice-grade copper loops" on an unbundled basis at regulated rates and (2) a requirement they offer legacy services for resale at regulated rates. The communications marketplace has transformed over the past twenty years, with consumers migrating away from plain old telephone service provided over copper wires by their local telephone company toward newer, any-distance voice services provided over next-generation networks by cable, mobile and fixed wireless, and over-the-top VoIP providers. In fact, according to the FCC's latest published data, of the nearly 455 million active voice subscriptions in the United States, only 55.8 million were provided by incumbent LECs.

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Monty Solomon
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