TDM-to-IP Transition: FCC Considers “Facilitating” Sale of Retired Copper

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The Federal Communications Commission is considering putting policies in place to “facilitate” the sale or auction of copper infrastructure that telephone service providers plan to retire as part of the TDM-to-IP transitions, FCC officials said. Additionally the commission is considering policies aimed at ensuring consumers have battery-powered telephones so that they will be able to make phone calls in the event of a power outage, officials said.

Moves that the commission is considering with regard to the TDM-to-IP transition fall into several broad categories, officials explained:

  • Establishing reasonable expectations for phone service during an outage in a technology-neutral manner
  • Defining copper retirement, seeking comment about how to ensure that new services meet consumers’ needs before legacy services are retired, and seeking comment about whether service providers are allowing copper facilities to deteriorate in anticipation of a transition to fiber facilities
  • Establishing policies to promote competition during a TDM-to-IP transition by requiring carriers to replace legacy wholesale services with equivalent services at equivalent rates, terms and conditions (this is the category in which the copper auction idea is floated)

TDM-to-IP Transition: FCC Considers “Facilitating” Sale of Retired Copper The IP Transition: FCC Asks Practical Questions About Copper Retirement (CommLawBlog)