Telecommunications: FCC Needs to Improve Its Ability to Monitor and Determine the Extent of Competition in Dedicated Access Services

In November 2006, we found that FCC's deregulation of special access services - which was granted to incumbent firms based on a proxy measure of competition, namely collocation in an incumbent's wire center - had not resulted in an extensive amount of facilities-based competition at the building level, as was predicted, and that numerous barriers to entry existed, suggesting that facilities-based competition may not be a realistic goal for some segments of the market for special access. Consequently, we recommended that the FCC develop a meaningful and workable definition of effective competition that accounts for the number of effective competitive choices available to customers and to determine what actions are necessary to accelerate competition for special access. On November 5, 2009, FCC issued a request for public comment on an analytical framework necessary to resolve issues in the special access notice of proposed rulemaking. According to the request for comment: "Once the Commission adopts an analytical approach enabling a systematic determination of whether or not the current regulation of special access services is ensuring rates, terms, and conditions that are just and reasonable as required by the Act, we can determine what, if any, specific problems there are with the current regime and formulate specific solutions as necessary." Staff developed alternative analytical frameworks to define competition and requested additional data from incumbents and competitive firms in the special access market in October 2010. Data were received from over 20 companies and FCC has been analyzing such data according to the frameworks they developed. The results of FCC's analysis will give the commission a workable definition of competition that will allow them to better understand the impacts of their deregulatory policies, and what actions are necessary, if any, to ensure that the commission?s regulation of special access services results in just and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions.

In November 2006, we found that the data FCC uses to assess competition for special access services had several limitations that prevent the agency from describing the current state of competition. We found that data had not been collected in several years, data was often not specific enough to be useful, data was lacking to describe the provision of services from competitive firms, and that FCC relied on data from economically interested parties that have an incentive to provide incomplete or biased data. We therefore recommended that FCC consider collecting additional data to monitor competition that more accurately represents market developments and individual customer choice. On October 28, 2010, the FCC issued a Public Notice inviting the public to submit data voluntarily to assist the Commission in evaluating special access issues. FCC seeks extensive data from competitive local exchange carriers, cell phone service providers, and incumbent local exchange carriers regarding the location and other aspects of all special access connections owned or leased in 24 major metropolitan areas, including the 16 areas examined in depth in our report. FCC also plans to issue a second public notice seeking additional data on special access connections (e.g. data on prices). According to officials from the Wireline Competition Bureau, FCC has received data from over 20 firms involved in special access markets and is analyzing the data it has received in the context of the analytical frameworks being considered to evaluate special access issues. The results of FCC's analysis will allow it to better understand the impacts of its deregulatory policies, and what actions are necessary, if any, to ensure that the Commission's regulation of special access services results in just and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions.