Court Backs FCC on Unbundling

COURT BACKS FCC ON UNBUNDLING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Federal Communications Commission's latest attempt to implement rules requiring regional phone companies to lease parts of their networks to competitors. It marked a victory for federal regulators, whose three previous attempts to implement the unbundling requirements of the 1996 Telecommunications Act had been struck down by courts. The 1996 law forced the regional phone companies to unbundle their local phone networks and lease them to rivals at wholesale prices. The companies complained that the FCC's latest rules went too far, requiring them to share parts of their network at steep discounts. Smaller rivals complained that the rules didn't go far enough. With the court's ruling, companies such as Covad will now be able to continue providing high-capacity telecommunications service over existing phone lines without the risk that the rules will change.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115048051542282567.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

* Appeals court backs FCC on telephone network unbundling
http://news.com.com/Appeals+court+backs+FCC+on+telephone+network+unbundl...