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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  September  16,  2005  Mark  Wigfield,  202-  418-  0253 
 Email:  mark.  wigfield@  fcc.  gov 
 FCC  GRANTS  QWEST  FORBEARANCE  RELIEF  IN  OMAHA  MSA 
 Commission  Relies  on  Substantial  Evidence  of  Intermodal  Competition 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (Commission)  today  grants  in  part  a  petition  for  forbearance  filed  by  Qwest  Corporation  (Qwest)  seeking  relief  from 
 statutory  and  regulatory  obligations  that  apply  to  it  as  the  incumbent  telephone  company  in  the  Omaha-  Council  Bluffs,  NE-  IA  Metropolitan  Statistical  Area  (Omaha  MSA).  Because  of  the 
 particular  market  characteristics  of  the  Omaha  MSA,  including  the  substantial  infrastructure  investment  made  by  Cox  Communications,  Inc.  in  its  competitive  network,  the  Commission  has 
 determined  to  relieve  Qwest  of  certain  legacy  monopoly  regulations. 
 With  regard  to  section  251(  c)(  3)  unbundling  obligations  for  transmission  facilities,  the  Commission  grants  Qwest  relief  in  targeted  areas  where  intermodal  deployment  is  extensive. 
 Specifically,  the  Commission  relieves  Qwest  of  the  obligation  to  provide  unbundled  network  elements  (UNEs)  to  competitors  in  9  of  Qwest’s  24  wire  center  service  areas  in  the  Omaha  MSA. 
 The  Commission  leaves  in  place  other  section  251(  c)  requirements  such  as  interconnection  and  interconnection-  related  collocation  obligations  as  well  as  section  271  obligations  to  provide 
 wholesale  access  to  local  loops,  local  transport,  and  local  switching  at  just  and  reasonable  prices. 
 For  mass  market  telephone  services,  the  Commission  grants  Qwest  relief  from  dominant  carrier  regulations  that  apply  to  it  in  the  entire  Omaha  MSA.  Specifically,  the  Commission 
 grants  Qwest’s  request  to  forbear  from  applying  price  cap,  rate  of  return,  15-  day  tariffing,  and  60-  day  discontinuance  regulations  to  Qwest  for  its  provision  of  interstate  mass  market  exchange 
 access  services  and  broadband  Internet  access  services. 
 The  Commission  adopts  a  six-  month  transition  period  to  permit  competing  carriers  that  currently  use  UNEs  in  the  9  wire  centers  receiving  relief  to  migrate  existing  customers  to 
 alternative  facilities  or  arrangements,  including  self-  provided  facilities,  alternative  facilities  offered  by  other  competitive  carriers,  or  services  offered  by  Qwest. 


 Action  by  the  Commission,  September  16,  2005,  by  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order  (FCC  05-  170). 
 WC  Docket  No.  04-  223 
 Wireline  Competition  Bureau  Staff  Contact:  Tim  Stelzig,  tim.  stelzig@  fcc.  gov,  202-  418-  0942. 
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 News  about  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  can  also  be  found  on  the  Commission’s  web  site  www.  fcc.  gov. 
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