Implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Federal Communications Commission here reconsiders on its own motion two specific issues addressed in its First Report and Order implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996. First, the Commission establishes a default proxy range for line ports, and clarifies that the default proxy for unbundled local switching applies to the traffic- sensitive components of the local switching element, including the switching matrix, the functionalities used to provide vertical features, and the trunk port. Second, the Commission clarifies that interexchange carriers or competitive access providers may not purchase access to an incumbent local exchange carrier's unbundled switch in order to provide interexchange traffic to customers for whom they do not provide local exchange service. The intended effect of this item is to provide an additional, interim proxy range for use by the states and to clarify one aspect of our rules governing the provision of unbundled network elements.