Regulatory

The FTTH Council monitors federal, state and local legislative activities that may affect the fiber to the home community. It also advocates Council positions and concerns on issues related to the future of broadband and the regulatory environment for FTTH services.


FTTH Council's Activities Related to Broadband Stimulus

100 Megabit Nation

Promoting Rural Broadband

National Broadband Plan

The FTTH Council has submitted information to the Federal Communications Commission with regard to its consideration of a National Broadband Plan.  These include two studies by the telecommunications strategy consultant CSMG -- one outlining the projected cost of wiring up the country with FTTH, and the other exploring the range of next-generation digital services and applications that will likely come about as a result of the proliferation of all-fiber networks in the U.S.  The materials submitted by the Council to the FCC are available below...

Future of Broadband

  • The FTTH Council has issued a white paper noting how deregulation at the state and federal levels has helped advance the deployment of next-generation networks. Download the paper here.
  • On April 24, 2007, FTTH Council Joe Savage submitted testimony for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee's hearing on the state of broadband in the United States.  Download a copy of his testimony.
  • On May 6, 2007, the FTTH Council submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission calling on the FCC to update its definition of broadband.  Download a copy of the comments.

Video Franchising

The FTTH Council believes that states should streamline the video franchising process so that fiber-to-the-home providers are not discouraged from entering new markets and bringing competitive choices to consumers with regard to video, voice and data services.

Municipal Broadband

Many municipalities across the country are deploying next-generation, high-bandwidth telecommunications networks as a means of stimulating economic growth and development. The FTTH Council takes the position that any entity that wants to deploy FTTH should be permitted to do so, and so it opposes the efforts of some states to frustrate these efforts by local governments.

"Network Neutrality"

The FTTH Council has urged the FCC not to adopt of a principle of non-discrimination in the transmission of content over the Internet.

Fiber Unbundling

The Council strongly supports the continuation of the FCC's 2003 policy exempting all-fiber networks from requirements that incumbent telephone companies lease out access to their lines to other service providers.

Multiple Dwelling Units (MDU's)

The Council has urged the FCC to refrain from adopting any additional regulations to prohibit exclusives in MDU's by non-cable operators.