Fibre-to-the-home deployment : Regulatory issues in five US midwestern states

A review of statutes and relevant court cases in five US midwestern states reveals nothing explicit that would encourage or impede local exchange carriers (LECs) to deploy fibre to the home. Absent more legislative guidance, the legal issues inherent in the deployment of fibre to the home will be debated and resolved by the state public utilities commissions. To that effect, the authors conducted interviews with 19 state commissioners in the five states. Most of them question the urgency of a full fibre-optic deployment and expect the LECs to demonstrate how the ratepayers would benefit from an advanced telecommunications infrastructure before allowing investment in fibre and related high technology into the rate base. On the question of cost allocation, a majority of commissioners recommend some type of cost-sharing mechanism between the ratepayers and the LECs, although none as yet has any clear idea about an appropriate formula for doing so.