Telecommunications In the News

FCC Request to End Pole Attachment Charges Time Warner Telecom, on Tuesday,January 16, 2007, filed a White Paper (23 pages) with the FCC calling for the elimination of discriminatory regulations governing fees charged for pole attachments for fiber optic cable that delivers vital broadband communications services to businesses. Time Warner agrues that the Commission’s current regulations inexplicably and unreasonably require that telecommunications carriers like TWTC pay millions of dollars more in pole attachment fees each year than their non-carrier competitors. This arbitrary discrimination distorts competition and is clearly inconsistent with the Commission’s policy of eliminating unjustified differences in the regulatory treatment of broadband competitors. Moreover, there is no legal basis for retaining the current discriminatory pole attachment rate regime.

CALEA May 14, 2007 Deadline The Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) requires providers of telecommunications services, Internet access, or certain kinds of Voice over Internet Protocol to acquire or build into their networks the technical capabilities necessary to enable them to assist law enforcement in conducting authorized interceptions of communications content or call-identifying information. All entities covered by CALEA must become CALEA-compliant by May 14, 2007. They must also file interim reports by February 12, 2007, and March 12, 2007, to show that they are diligently pursuing ways to comply with CALEA. The Federal Communications Commission has stated that it will not grant exceptions or extensions of time. Parties that fail to meet their CALEA obligations are subject to fines and civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each day in violation.