FCC staffers have sent a white paper on the subject to the commission in advance of a September 14 meeting. The draft is said to recommend nonregulatory approaches to give telecommunications companies the access they want.
That approach is supported by real estate interests, which prefer rules that allow voluntary access, rather than rules which give government the power to impose it.
"The Real Access Alliance welcomes the increasing recognition by Washington lawmakers that market forces are the best way to ensure consumer choice for competitive telecommunications products and services," says spokesman Roger Platt. The agenda for the September meeting has not been set, but the FCC is expected to vote on the issue then.
Telecommunications companies want to set up satellite dishes atop buildings so they can deliver dial tones to tenants. The FCC has supported this position, believing it will promote competition, in accordance with the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996.
But property owners argue that giving telecommunications companies access to multi-tenant buildings is impractical and illegal.
Meanwhile, a growing and bipartisan number of Congressional lawmakers, several overseeing telecommunications issues, have been warning the FCC that it may be reaching too far in attempts to give telecommunications carriers access to multi-tenant buildings.
"The commission lacks any express statutory authority to take up this matter itself," writes Rep. John D. Dingell, (D-MI.), in a letter to FCC Chairman William E. Kennard. Dingell is the ranking minority member on the House Commerce Committee's Telecommunications Subcommittee. In a letter to Kennard, Sen. Jesse Helms, (R-NC) also urged the FCC to " drop consideration of these regulations."
Other lawmakers who have raised concerns include House Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee member Rep. Ellen Tauscher, (D-CA.), and its chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, (R-LA). Rep. Thomas C. Sawyer, (D-OH), of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee also raised concerns.
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