Jurisdictional Issues Affecting Interconnection Agreements
by Patricia B. Tomasco
Brown McCarroll, L.L.P.; Austin, Texas
A competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) is a creature of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA). CLECs compete with existing monopolies, called RBOCs or ILECs (Regional Bell Operating Companies and Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers, respectively) by effectively plugging into existing local telephone distribution systems – called interconnection. Section 252(e) of the TCA delegates to the state public utility commissions the job of arbitrating and approving interconnection agreements (ICAs). Jurisdictional tension arises when disputes over the meaning of various interconnection agreement terms affect the viability of the CLEC’s reorganization.
Preparation of the Lay Witness for the e-Arena
by Jack Seward
New York
What do you do when two attorneys have already laid down the foundation in the article “The Pitfalls of Preparing a Lay Witness for Trial” and e-discovery is involved? Acknowledge, as a nonattorney, that the article is excellent, and then explain as best you can how today’s technology creates an e-arena that can take down the best of them.
The Technology & Telecommunication Cases Committee Is Looking for Volunteers!
We need volunteers for the following:
- Volunteers to write articles for upcoming quarterly e-newsletters,
- Volunteer(s) to serve as the moderator(s) for the committee’s listserve and
- Volunteers to help write the committee’s Bankruptcy/Intellectual Property Manual.
These are great ways to get involved with the committee and ABI. Your help would be greatly appreciated. If interested, please e-mail Joel Levitin or William Snyder, the committee co-chairs.