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Tech Law Journal |
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| News, records, and analysis of legislation, litigation, and regulation affecting the computer, internet, communications and information technology sectors | |
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Nature of the Case. Petition for Review to the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, of an FCC order regarding "advanced services".
Parties. The petitioner is MCI WorldCom. The respondent is the Federal Communications Commission, the federal regulatory agency which issued the order of which MCI WorldCom seeks review. US West, SBC, Bell Atlantic (now Verizon), GTE, AT&T, and others, have intervened.
FCC Proceeding. This is a Petition for Review of the FCC's Advanced Services Order on Remand (MS Word) (FCC 99-413) concerning application of Section 251 to DSL service. The FCC ruled that DSL service provided by US West, an ILEC, is "exchange access" or "telephone exchange service". 47 U.S.C. § 251 contains the interconnection provisions enacted in the Telecom Act of 1996. This section requires that ILECs, such as US West, meet certain obligations to competitors with respect to telecommunications services, including interconnection, access to unbundled network elements, resale of their retail services, notification of interoperability changes to their facilities or networks, collocation, and good faith negotiation. US West argued that phone service, but not DSL service, is not subject to the unbundling requirements of Section 251. The FCC ruled that DSL service is a telecommunications service, and either a "telephone exchange service" or "exchange access" within the meaning of Section 251, and hence, subject to unbundling requirements. Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth dissented in part. Oral Argument before Judges Williams, Sentelle and Rogers is scheduled for 9:30 AM on Wednesday, February 21, 2001. Attorneys
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