[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7131-7132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2948]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[DA 95-36]
Bell Operating Companies' Joint Petition for Waiver of Computer
II Rules
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Memorandum Opinion and Order.
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SUMMARY: On October 18, 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit remanded in part the Commission's BOC Safeguards
Order (57 FR 4373 (February 5, 1992)), which had established procedures
for the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) to offer enhanced services on a
structurally integrated basis. This Memorandum Opinion and Order
concluded that, because the Ninth Circuit decision generally returned
the regulation of BOC enhanced services to a Comparably Efficient
Interconnection (CEI) plan framework, waivers would only be necessary
for new enhanced services or market trials, and for those existing
services and market trials that were not covered by previously-approved
CEI plans. In order to avoid possible service disruptions and customer
confusion, the Common Carrier Bureau clarified the requirements for BOC
provision of enhanced services, and granted the BOCs any necessary
interim waivers to: Provide existing enhanced services pursuant to CEI
plans approved prior to the lifting of structural separation; continue
providing other existing enhanced services, pending FCC review of CEI
plans for those services; file CEI plans for any new enhanced services;
continue to perform research and planning activities and technical
trials for enhanced services; continue existing market trials,
conditioned on their filing the market trial notification required
under the CEI plan regime; and begin market trials of new enhanced
services pursuant to the market trial requirements of the CEI plan
regime.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 13, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [[Page 7132]]
Rose Crellin at (202) 418-1571 or Kevin Werbach at (202) 418-1597,
Policy and Program Planning Division, Common Carrier Bureau.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Common Carrier
Bureau's Memorandum Opinion and Order, DA 95-36, adopted January 11,
1995 and released January 11, 1995. The full text of this decision is
available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in
the FCC Dockets Branch (Room 239), 1919 M Street NW., Washington, DC.
The complete text of this decision may also be purchased from the
Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Services,
Inc., 2100 M Street NW., Suite 140, Washington, DC 20037.
Summary of Memorandum Opinion and Order
1. In the Computer III proceeding, beginning with the Phase I Order
(51 FR 24350 (July 3, 1986)), the Commission reversed its earlier
decision to require the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) to establish
structurally separate subsidiaries for the provision of enhanced
services. Enhanced services use the existing telephone network to
deliver services--such as voice mail, E-Mail, and gateways to on-line
databases--beyond a basic transmission offering. The commission
established a two-step process in Computer III for the removal of
structural separation restrictions. Initially, BOCs were permitted to
offer individual enhanced services on a structurally integrated basis
once they had received FCC approval of service-specific Comparably
Efficient Interconnection (CEI) plans. Those plans were required to
detail how the BOCs would make the underlying network services used by
their own enhanced service offerings available to competing enhanced
service providers (ESPs) on an equal access basis.
2. In the second stage of Computer III, BOCs were required to
develop Open Network Architecture (ONA) plans detailing how they would
unbundle and make available basic network services, and describing how
they would comply with other nonstructural safeguards. Upon FCC
approval of the initial BOC ONA plans, the remaining structural
separation requirements were to be lifted. Following a remand from the
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Commission strengthened and
reaffirmed its regime of nonstructural safeguards in the 1991 BOC
Safeguards Order (57 FR 4373 (February 5, 1992)). Between 1992 and
1993, the Common Carrier Bureau granted full structural relief to the
BOCs upon a showing that they had complied with the requirements of the
BOC Safeguards Order, and those decisions were subsequently ratified by
the Commission.
3. In October 1994, the Ninth Circuit partially remanded the BOC
Safeguards Order. The court concluded that the Commission had scaled
back its conception of ONA, and had not explained how the more limited
version of ONA represented in the approved BOC ONA plans provided
sufficient protection to justify fully lifting structural separation.
In light of this decision, on November 14, 1994, the BOCs jointly filed
a petition for an interim waiver (BOC Petition). The BOC Petition
requested permission to continue offering existing enhanced services on
a structurally integrated basis; to continue integrated research,
development, and market trials; and to offer new integrated enhanced
services associated with video dialtone service offerings.
4. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Common Carrier Bureau
(Bureau) clarified the requirements that will govern BOCs' enhanced
service offerings, pending further Commission action on remand, and
issued an interim waiver. Specifically, the Bureau concluded that,
after the partial remand of the BOC Safeguards Order, the BOCs may
generally provide enhanced services that comply with the CEI plan
regime in effect before the Commission completely lifted structural
separation requirements. The Bureau granted the BOCs a limited waiver
to continue providing those enhanced services that they first offered
after the CEI plan approval requirement had expired, conditioned on
their filing CEI plans for those services within sixty days after the
release of the waiver order. The Memorandum Opinion and Order also
granted the BOCs a limited waiver to continue existing market trials
initiated after the expiration of the CEI plan approval requirement,
conditioned on the BOCs' filing market trial notifications within sixty
days after the release of the waiver order. To the extent that the
decision remanding the BOC Safeguards Order might be regarded as
returning regulation to the Computer II framework of full structural
separation, the Memorandum Opinion and Order granted the BOCs limited
waivers of the Computer II structural separation requirements.
5. The Bureau concluded that the safeguards provided by the CEI
plan regime would protect against potential anticompetitive conduct by
the BOCs during the pendency of remand proceedings. The Memorandum
Opinion and Order noted that the BOCs currently offer enhanced services
on an integrated basis to approximately five million customers, and
determined that service disruptions and customer confusion were
possible in the absence of a waiver. The Bureau observed that it had
granted a similar waiver following the first remand of Computer III in
1990, and that waiver was not subsequently challenged before the
Commission or in court. Given these considerations, the Bureau
determined that it would be in the public interest to provide the BOCs
with a limited waiver to allow them to offer integrated enhanced
services subject to defined safeguards until the Commission acted on
remand.
6. Accordingly, the Bureau granted any necessary waivers to enable
the BOCs to: (1) Provide existing enhanced services pursuant to CEI
plans approval prior to the lifting of structural separation; (2)
continue providing other existing enhanced services, pending Commission
consideration of CEI plans for those services; (3) file CEI plans for
any new enhanced services; (4) continue to perform research and
planning activities and technical trials for enhanced services; (5)
continue existing market trials, conditioned on their filing the market
trial notifications required under the CEI plan regime; and (6) begin
market trials of new enhanced services pursuant to the market trial
requirements of the CEI plan regime. The Bureau declined to treat
video-dialtone-related enhanced services differently from other new
enhanced services.
Ordering Clauses
1. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Secs. 0.91, 0.291,
and 1.3 of the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR Secs. 0.91, 0.291, and 1.3,
the BOC Joint Contingency Petition for Interim Waiver of the Computer
II Rules, IS GRANTED to the extent described herein and otherwise
Denied.
2. It is further ordered that this order is effective upon issuance
of the Ninth Circuit's mandate in California III.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64
Communications common carriers; Computer technology.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-2948 Filed 2-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-M