Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council (ATIC) Multitenant Building Telecommunications Access Study PREVIOUS CONTENTS APPENDIX 4
returnNEXT Submitted Position Statements:
WinStar Communications Position StatementAppendix 4: Submitted Position Statements
Arizona Competitive Telecommunications Coalition (ACTC)
Provider Access To Privately Owned Buildings
Issue:
Incumbent local exchange carriers and other utilities have physical space and access within multidwelling units and commercial buildings to provide service to customers within those privately owned buildings. New entrants that seek to provide local services to customers have encountered barriers as landlords either deny them the right to physically run their lines and/or demand unreasonable and discriminatory payments to do so. Building access is necessary for all telecommunications providers to deliver the services that our customers require.
Cities and states have begun to recognize that the lack of access by CLECs to privately owned buildings will impede local competition. Several state legislatures have already addressed this issue, providing examples from which Arizona may benefit.
What is needed:
Competitive telecommunications providers seek legislation that would satisfy the following principles:
- Customers should be entitled to access to telecommunications service from any certificated telecommunications company; and landlord and telecommunications companies must reach reasonable accommodation for access to both the building - including roofs; risers (both vertical and horizontal); riser conduit and pathways -- and to all inside wiring on a nondiscriminatory basis.
- Timeframe for landlord and telecommunications providers to reach "accommodation" should be set by law (just as federal law sets time frame for interconnection negotiations). In the absence of an agreement, default for compensation should be whatever the landlord is charging the incumbent local exchange carrier; and the default for demarcation point should be the minimum point of entry (MPOE) as recognized in the FCC's orders.
- Costs and charges for building access should be:
- standardized and technology-neutral;
- no higher for later entrants than for the initial entrant ;
- charges to the incumbent local exchange carrier should be the standard for all.
- Incumbent company's owned/controlled rooftops should be available as right of way (per Section 224 of the federal Act), or alternately as an unbundled element as part of an interconnection agreement.
Submitted by
John Badal, Executive Director
Arizona Competitive Telecommunications Coalition (ACTC)(602) 277-1490, E-mail: jwbadal@home.com, URL: http://www.aztelecom.org/
Multitenant Building Telecommunications Access Study PREVIOUS CONTENTS APPENDIX 4
returnNEXT Submitted Position Statements:
Arizona Competitive Telecommunications Coalition (ACTC)