The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has partially granted the United States Telecom Association’s (USTelecom) request that the FCC forbear from enforcing “various outdated regulatory requirements” applicable to incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). USTelecom requested forbearance for all ILECs in some cases, while in other cases, forbearance was requested only for ILECs operating under price cap regulation at the federal level; ILECs operating under rate-of-return regulation at the federal level; or ILECs that are Bell Operating Companies that have not previously been granted forbearance. The FCC granted forbearance with respect to various equal access rules, certain remaining computer inquiry rules, and the requirement that ILECs provide a voice-grade channel (64 Kbps) on fiber networks for use by other providers. It denied USTelecom’s request for forbearance from universal service voice obligations where a price cap ILEC does not receive high-cost support. The FCC granted partial forbearance from its entrance conduit sharing rules (sharing is not required for greenfield developments, while sharing is required for existing developments).
