FROM FCC DAILY DIGEST:
FCC SAYS GTE'S ADSL INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES IS AN INTERSTATE
SERVICE.
<snip>
The Commission intends to address next week, in a
separate order, the broader issue of whether conventional dial-up
access
to the Internet, made through calls to information service
providers,
including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), is local or interstate
in
nature. That decision will address whether incumbent local
telephone
companies may be required to compensate their competitors for
handling
calls made by the incumbents' customers to ISPs that are the
competitors'
customers. Report No: CC-98-41. by MO&O. Action by: the
Commission.
Adopted: October 30, 1998. (FCC No. 98-292) CCB.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: why is this important?
Most ISP's in Michigan purchase dialtone from Competitive Local
Exchange
Carriers(CLEC) at discounted rates from traditional Ameritech services
and
thus provide services at lower cost to consumers. If Internet
access
through CLEC's is deemed to be interstate telecommunications traffic,
per
minute tariff charges would begin to apply for calls delivered via
CLEC's.
This could mean a dramatic increase (on the order of 1-2 cents per
minute)
for Internet access.
Additional information on the GTE "test" case can be found
at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1998/nrcc8081.html
---------
Ivars
Upatnieks v
(734)998-0090
ICNet,
Inc.
f
(734)998-0816
2901
Hubbard e
ivars@ic.net
Ann Arbor, MI
48105
www.ic.net