Bells Look to Fiber After Regulatory Wins
240636
For at least a decade, phone companies have been promising to rewire America with fiber-optic cables. Now, with a romp of regulatory victories in hand, the regional Bells say they're free to make good on that ambitious plan to bring lightning-fast Web and TV services to all the nation's homes.
65680
WASHINGTON -- New rules approved this week by the Federal Communications Commission are aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans.
344744
On a quiet cul-de-sac in Southernwalk, an upscale Loudoun County neighborhood, the fiber-optic cables beneath the manicured lawns were once a source of technological pride. Now they're a source of headaches.
407914
SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. expect to more quickly build fiber-optic networks for carrying video after US regulators said they won&#39;t force the phone companies to share the equipment with competitors.
690200
(InfoWorld) - The European Commission asked the German regulatory authority, the Federal Network Agency, Monday to do more to ensure a level playing field in the market for high-speed optical fiber connections to the home or office. It is asking the regulator to help secure adequate access to the market for competitors to Deutsche Telekom AG. The Commission -- the executive and regulatory branch of the European Union -- also asked the national regulator to complete its market analysis for access to the new super fast networks, dubbed next-generation networks (NGNs). "The Commission is keen to ensure that NGNs can be deployed and made accessible in a consistent and transparent manner across Europe," said Viviane Reding, EU telecom commissioner. "It is vital that we ensure effective competition and the legal certainty necessary for all market players to invest in new products and services that will benefit consumers." In May the Federal Network Agency notified the Commission of rules designed to force Deutsche Telekom to grant competitors access to its copper fixed telephone network. As Deutsche Telekom is upgrading its network by rolling out optical fibre-based connections, these rules also apply during the transition to the new infrastructure. In a letter sent to the national regulator Monday, the Commission did not challenge its market definition of local loop unbundling but raised a number of issues on regulatory remedies. Having examined the rules, the Commission said they were a step in the right direction but ultimately they have failed to ensure fair competition. "There are more issues to be tackled, we want more remedies," said Martin Selmayr, a Commission spokesman in charge of telecom-related issues, at a press conference Monday. The rollout of fiber closer to the customers, normally to the street cabinets, enables the provision of high bandwidth services but it raises important issues regarding the position of alternative operators that currently benefit from access obligations of Deutsche Telekom's existing networks. As alternative operators in Germany roll out their own infrastructure to local exchanges, these operators now need an economic way of reaching the new access points provided in street cabinets. The Commission is asking the German telecom regulator to guarantee that access to Deutsche Telekom's existing copper network by its competitors remains efficient during the rollout of NGNs. In the new networks, the number of access points required by an alternative operator will be many times higher than that for the traditional fixed telephony network. In many cases there would no longer be a business case for alternative operators to extend their network down to the street cabinets, the Commission said. Therefore, the Commission stresses the importance of ensuring appropriate alternative access solutions as NGNs are deployed. The Commission can't force the national regulator to take action but its opinion cannot be ignored, Selmayr said. At the same time, the deployment of NGNs raises questions as to how competitors may continue benefiting from current access obligations, in the future, while maintaining incentives to invest for both the incumbent and new entrants. Deutsche Telekom has begun delivering IP (Internet Protocol) services such as telephony, television and Internet access over VDSL (Very high bit rate DSL) to customers in some German cities. It has asked the regulator to exempt its VDSL service from a requirement that it lease its infrastructure to competitors on reasonable terms, claiming that without the exclusive right to use the infrastructure, it cannot fund the necessary investment.
235537
Despite a recent court victory for the area&#39;s largest telecommunications company, the battle for your home phone service isn&#39;t about to end.
686090
Grotius writes &quot;Reuters reported that the Supreme Court will hear a broadband regulation case that may determine whether FCC regulations apply to cable companies providing broadband services.
574223
The FCC uses fines to get its message across.
423166
The long-promised battle between U.S.  cable and telephone companies has so far been more of an uneasy  peace. Thanks to their duopoly over broadband Internet access,  it may stay that way.
552248
MANHASSET, NY - The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday (Oct. 14) to modified its rules to open the door to the widespread deployment of broadband access over power lines.
580526
Ma Bell--under prior management in the 1990s--let the Internet revolution slip from its grasp, as companies like America Online, EarthLink and MSN grabbed the lead in providing Internet access.
639522
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to approve  a proposal to give the major telephone companies more leeway in the design of new fiber-optic networks, sparing them from the regulation that governs traditional phone lines. -The Washington Post
164287
Company is developing a fiber network that will deliver TV and data to homes.
511519
By Virgil Larson, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.  Mar. 7--A new federal rule is meant to put competition into cable TV, but don't look for a new system in your neighborhood anytime soon.
68062
By The Hartford Courant, Conn.  May 30--Last year, when the state Department of Public Utility Control ruled that AT&T's method of delivering television service through telephone lines was not the same technology as cable television, it was a blessed event for consumers.
434286
Two years ago, Bob Frankston wrote Why Settle for Just 1%? while in the midst of his ramp-up as a Verizon FiOS customer. The question is still on the table. I'd like us to help answer it by re-phrasing the question: What could we, as Linux developers and users, do with fiber to our homes and businesses?
607109
By JENNIFER C. KERR    WASHINGTON  -- Federal regulators approved new rules Thursday aimed at making high-speed Internet available to more Americans...