FCC Acts to Increase Broadband Competition in Apartment Buildings

Yesterday the FCC adopted a Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling aimed at providing competitive choice of communications services for those living and working in multiple tenant environments (MTEs).  The Order includes three actions:

1. Adopts new rules prohibiting providers from entering into certain types of revenue sharing agreements that are used to evade our existing rules.
2. Adopts new rules requiring providers to disclose the existence of exclusive marketing arrangements in simple, easy-to-understand language.
3. Clarifies that existing Commission rules regarding cable inside wiring prohibit so-called “sale-and-leaseback” arrangements which effectively deny access to alternative providers.

The new rules and the declaratory ruling take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, with several exceptions: For existing contracts with exclusive and graduated revenue sharing

agreements, compliance with the prohibition on enforcing such agreements will be required 180 days after publication in the Federal Register.  Also, the Commission will not enforce compliance with the disclosure requirement for existing exclusive marketing arrangements until the later of (1) the Office of Management and Budget completing its review of the new requirements pursuant to the paperwork Reduction Act, or (2) 180 days after publication in the Federal Register.