The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has adopted a package of procedures to speed the retirement of aging copper networks, a move aimed at accelerating the transition to modern, high-speed infrastructure while continuing to protect consumers during the shift.
Key elements include clarifications that allow providers to use streamlined retirement procedures more often, a waiver enabling copper retirements where bundled services are offered (with consumer protections in place), and a waiver to relax notification requirements that the Wireline Competition Bureau had flagged as excessive.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the actions are designed to spur billions of dollars in investment in new networks across communities, while ensuring protections for consumers during the transition. He added, “This initial set of actions gets things moving in the right direction and creates the right incentives for providers to invest and build new networks in communities across the country. As we take these actions, we are also ensuring that consumers remain protected during the transition.”
The package also includes a waiver addressing grandfathered services and signals that additional steps are forthcoming in the copper-network modernization effort, the FCC noted.
“Outdated FCC rules have left Americans sitting in the slow lane for far too long,” Carr said. “Those FCC rules have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve.” The commission also highlighted that the actions aim to free up billions of dollars for new network deployments. And Carr warned that there is much more work ahead for the FCC.
