FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin Keynotes TIA Broadband Regulation Session At SUPERCOMM 2003; Expert Panel Analyzes FCC's Recent Unbundling Decision.Business Editors SUPERCOMM 2003 ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2003 FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. Commissioner Kevin Martin today at SUPERCOMM 2003 led a session on the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) recent ruling on unbundled network elements (UNE) and its impact on broadband deployment. Hosted by the Telecommunications Industry Association See TIA. (body, standard) Telecommunications Industry Association - (TIA) An association that sets standards for communications cabling. Cables that TIA set standards for include: EIA/TIA-568A and EIA/TIA-568B category three, four and five cable. (TIA (1) (Telecommunications Industry Association, Arlington, VA, www.tiaonline.org) A membership organization founded in 1988 that sets telecommunications standards worldwide. It was originally an EIA working group that was spun off and merged with the U.S. ), the program included a panel of industry experts and emphasized new broadband technologies such as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH (Fiber To The Home) See FTTP. ). Martin's keynote speech focused on the impact of the FCC's February 2003 decision to not apply the network "unbundling A regulatory requirement that enables a competing service provider to purchase parts of the incumbent local exchange carrier's network in order to provide service to its customers. See ILEC. " rules to broadband access facilities. His opening remarks were followed by panel sessions on regulatory, technology deployment and financial issues related to the ruling. Jeff Linder, a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wiley, Rein and Fielding LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol , kicked off the panel sessions with a regulatory tutorial of the FCC decision. Linder provided detail on the decision's legal implications, as well as an overview of related FCC decisions. Next, a panel of industry experts discussed their companies' plans for deploying broadband in light of the FCC UNE decision. The panel included Andre Fuetsch, vice president of network planning for SBC Communications; John White, executive director, fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP (Fiber To The Premises) The installation of optical fiber from the carrier directly into the home or office. Also called "fiber to the home" (FTTH). See PON and FTTC. See also FTP. ), Verizon; Peter Hill, vice president, technology planning and deployment, BellSouth; and Mary Retka, director, local network and technical regulatory team, Qwest. SBC, Verizon and BellSouth recently announced adoption of common technical requirements for FTTP technology used to connect homes and businesses to telecom networks, and alerted telecom equipment manufacturers that they will soon be seeking proposals for equipment based on the common requirements. Fuetsch discussed SBC's planned deployment for Mission Bay, a 300-acre redevelopment effort in San Francisco which, when fully complete, will include nearly 6,000 residential units receiving next-generation FTTP voice, data and video services. Hill noted that BellSouth will serve one million homes with fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) The installation of optical fiber to within several hundred feet of the home or office. At that point, the optics are converted into electronics for delivery into the premises, typically using DSL. ) by the end of 2003, including 135,000 of 315,000 new homes built in the company's region. White said that Verizon's plans include serving both greenfield and overlay customers with a flexible services platform that includes a variety of FTTP-delivered voice, video and data services. Retka outlined Qwest's broadband deployment plan, which includes investing an incremental $75 million to expand the availability of DSL service across the company's 14-state region. The program was rounded out with a financial presentation from TMNG TMNG The Management Network Group, Inc Strategy, a consulting firm that released a report in April 2003 concluding that the FCC ruling should result in more than 100 million fiber kilometers deployed in the United States over the next 10 years. The presentation, led by TMNG president Steve Brodeur and associate Edward Naef, outlined different business cases to prove the viability of FTTH in light of the FCC UNE decision. For 16 years, SUPERCOMM has been the premier annual communications and information technology exhibition and conference. Held from June 1-5 at the Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 1.4 million ft2 (130,000 m2) and hosts more than a million visitors each year. in Atlanta, the 2003 event has drawn tens of thousands of communications leaders from around the world. Industry sponsors of the broadband event included Corning Incorporated (http://www.corning.com), OFS Optics (www.ofsoptics.com) and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave (http://sumitomoelectric.com). About TIA TIA is the leading trade association serving the communications and information technology industry, with proven strengths in market development, trade shows, domestic and international advocacy, standards development and enabling e-business. Through its worldwide activities, the association facilitates business development opportunities and a competitive market environment. The association provides a market-focused forum for its 1,000 member companies that manufacture or supply the products and services used in global communications. TIA represents the communications sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance, Arlington, VA, www.eia.org) A membership organization founded in 1924 as the Radio Manufacturing Association. It sets standards for consumer products and electronic components. ). Visit us at http://www.tiaonline.org. |
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