WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth got the agency to delay the vote on telecom building-access rules, but brow beating from Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) appeared to have contributed to assurances that the controversial matter will not be sidetracked and will be voted on in two weeks.
According to industry and FCC sources, Stevens’ staff, having learned about Furchtgott-Roth’s desire to have the building-access vote taken off last Thursday’s FCC agenda, called Furchtgott-Roth aide Helgi Walker days before the schedule vote to inquire about the commissioner’s intentions.
Helgi said she explained to the Stevens’ aide that the matter was complex and needed further study. Helgi said she assured Stevens’ office that Furchtgott-Roth, a Republican, was not trying to “slow-roll” the item.
Stevens’ staff did not return calls for comment.
In making the inquiry, the Stevens’ aide was treading in dangerous territory. Rules regarding communications between outside parties and FCC staff the seven days prior to a meeting are very strict.
Exactly one week before the Sept. 14 vote, Stevens urged FCC Chairman William Kennard and the four other commissioners in a two-page letter to take action to remove barriers to local in-building telecom competition.
“In many cases, the owners or operators of multi-tenant buildings are refusing to permit access to common carriers seeking to provide telecommunications services to apartments and offices in those buildings; are unreasonably delaying the process of reaching agreements to permit such access; or are demanding financial remuneration to provide such access unrelated to the actual costs,” said Stevens.
Stevens is author of a bill that would require building owners to provide nondiscriminatory access to competitive local service providers-including fixed broadband wireless carriers such as Winstar Communications Inc. and Teligent Inc.
“These refusal, delays, and financial barriers have caused federal agencies who are often tenants of such buildings to be denied new telecommunications services at lower costs, including high-speed Internet,” Stevens stated.
The real estate industry argues mandated building access may be unconstitutional and outside the FCC’s jurisdiction. As such, the FCC, according to sources, has been exploring ways to get around possible constitutional hurdles by looking to provisions in the 1996 telecom act that allow the FCC to remove barriers to entry, for example.
While it is unclear how the FCC will rule on nondiscriminatory access to buildings, Kennard signaled the agency is prepared to pry open an in-building telecom market dominated by regional Bell telephone companies and GTE Corp.
“It’s a very important item because it will provide tenants in office and apartment buildings real choice in telecommunications providers. … The issues in this proceeding are complex, but American consumers deserve the benefits of competition as quickly as possible,” said Kennard, after announcing postponement of the vote.
Tom Cohen, a spokesman for the Smart Buildings Policy Project (a lobbying group representing fixed broadband wireless carriers and others) said, “American consumers everywhere should be heartened by the chairman’s positive remarks.”
The RealAccess Alliance, a real estate industry coalition, said the FCC’s decision to put off the vote does not change anything. “Regardless of today’s developments at the FCC, our industry is following through on the voluntary, good-faith commitments we presented earlier to the commission,” said spokesman Roger Platt. “These commitments detail the many ways in which the real estate industry is working to maximize tenant choice of the most competitive telecom services available.”
