§259 Infrastructure Sharing

Summary

The Federal Communications Commission (the Commission) must write rules within one year after February 8, 1996, that make incumbent local phone companies (as defined in section 251(h)) allow qualifying carriers to use their public switched network infrastructure, technology, information, and facilities when asked. This access is to help qualifying carriers provide phone or information services in areas where they have been named eligible under section 214(e). The rules must protect incumbents from economically unreasonable or clearly harmful obligations, may allow but do not force joint ownership or operation, and say incumbents will not be treated as common carriers for these shared items. The rules must require fair terms so qualifying carriers can benefit from the incumbents’ scale, encourage cooperation, and not force sharing for services the qualifying carrier will sell to consumers inside the incumbent’s own exchange. Incumbents must file rates and contracts for public inspection. Any incumbent that shares must give timely notice to partners about planned service or equipment rollouts, including software and upgrades. A "qualifying carrier" is one that lacks economies of scale or scope under the Commission’s rules and that offers all universal-service telephone and access services to all consumers without preference in its designated area under section 214(e).