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 DISSENTING  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  Review  of  the  Section  251  Unbundling  Obligations  for  Incumbent  Local  Exchange  Carriers,  Implementation  of  the  Local  Competition  Provisions  of  the 
 Telecommunications  Act  of  1996,  Deployment  of  Wireline  Services  Offering  Advanced  Telecommunications  Capability  (CC  Docket  Nos.  01-  338,  96-  98, 
 98-  147) 
 Though  today’s  Order  speaks  in  glowing  terms  about  broadband  relief,  the  reality  is  far  less  radiant.  I  don’t  believe  competitive  telecommunications  have  been  faring  very 
 well  under  our  watch  and  this  particular  proceeding  strikes  me  as  yet  another  in  a  series  of  prescriptions  this  Commission  is  willing  to  write  to  end  competitive  access  to  last  mile 
 facilities.  It  seems  every  month  brings  a  new  onslaught. 
 I  did  not  support  the  basic  approach  embraced  here  when  the  Commission  set  out  to  restrict  access  to  fiber  loops  in  the  Triennial  Review.  So  it  will  surprise  no  one  that  I 
 do  not  support  it  here  with  the  majority  venturing  even  deeper  into  the  denial  of  access  to  bottleneck  facilities.  By  expanding  the  fiber-  to-  the-  home  unbundling  exemption  to  fiber-to- 
 the-  curb  architectures—  a  huge  step  even  in  light  of  the  dramatic  competitive  restrictions  in  the  Triennial  Review—  this  decision  restricts  broadband  competition  for 
 residential  consumers.  It  also  constitutes  an  ominous  precedent  for  the  small  business  community.  Neither  does  it  bode  well  for  independent  providers  of  VoIP  services  who 
 don’t  own  or  control  the  physical  layer  of  the  network. 
 Here  is  why  I  think  this  approach  is  dangerous.  The  loop  represents  the  prized  last  mile  of  communications.  Putting  it  beyond  the  reach  of  competitors  can  only 
 entrench  incumbents  who  already  hold  sway.  Monopoly  control  of  the  last  mile  created  all  kinds  of  problems  for  basic  telephone  service  in  the  last  century,  and  now  we  seem 
 bent  on  replicating  that  sad  story  for  advanced  services  in  the  digital  age.  Unfortunately,  the  digital  age  is  going  to  take  a  lot  longer  to  get  here  because  of  the  blows  we  are 
 inflicting  on  competition.  In  the  Triennial  Review,  the  majority  started  down  a  hazardous  path.  They  began  by  exempting  fiber-  to-  the-  home  loops  from  competition.  Last  summer 
 the  majority  extended  this  exemption  to  “primarily  residential”  buildings.  In  doing  so,  they  blurred  the  line  between  mass  market  and  small  business  customers.  As  a  result, 
 millions  of  small  businesses  located  in  buildings  that  also  have  residential  apartments  are  now  going  to  be  denied  the  enhanced  services  and  lower  prices  that  competition  can 
 bring.  Now,  today,  the  Commission  treks  even  further  down  this  road  by  exempting  fiber-  to-  the-  curb  facilities  from  competition.  And  they  add  to  the  damage  by  adopting  an 
 incomprehensible  routine  network  modification  policy. 
 If  we  aren’t  going  to  listen  to  consumers,  one  would  think  this  Commission  would  at  least  listen  to  the  investors  who  wrote  us  again  last  week  that  our  broadband  policies 
 are  undermining  competition,  undermining  facilities-  based  carriers  who  need  last-  mile  access  to  service  small  business  customers,  and  undermining  the  confidence  of  investors 
 who  want  to  put  money  into  this  kind  of  competition—  in  fact  who  have  already  done  so! 
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 It  doesn’t  take  a  compass  to  see  what  direction  this  is  heading.  With  fewer  and  fewer  loops  available  to  competitors,  more  and  more  control  will  be  wrestled  away  from 
 consumers  and  placed  with  the  entrenched  owner  of  the  last  mile  facility.  By  shutting  off  the  last  mile  to  competitors,  the  Commission  is  not  ushering  in  a  new  era  of  broadband. 
 It  is  returning  to  the  failed  and  non-  competitive  policies  of  the  past.  Residential  consumers,  small  businesses,  edge  providers  of  VoIP  and  others  who  rely  on  competitive 
 broadband  will  be  stuck  with  the  consequences,  and  the  consequences  will  be  with  us  for  a  long  time  and  will,  I  predict,  kick  us  further  down  that  broadband  penetration  ladder 
 where  your  country  and  mine  now  ranks  Number  11.  Number  11.  I  think  the  policy  is  wrong,  I  think  it’s  dangerous,  I  think  it  runs  against  the  direction  set  by  Congress,  and  I 
 feel  compelled  to  dissent. 
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