The Second Computer Inquiry is the second proceeding in the FCC trilogy
The Computer Inquiries In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission Computer Inquiries were a trio of interrelated FCC Inquiries focused on problems posed by the convergence of regulated telephony with unregulated computing services. These Computer Inquirie ...
, which created the FCC's policy of regulating the way in which telecommunications carriers' networks are opened up and made available to enhanced services (aka computer networks). The proceeding reformed the First Computer Inquiry which established the policy objectives that telecommunications carriers which have market power and the ability to discriminate be regulated, and computer services which were competitive, innovative, and had low barriers to entry, would not be regulated. The FCC saw great promise in the computer services industry and sought to ensure that the telecommunications network was adequately meeting the needs of the computer market. In the Second Computer Inquiry, the FCC created the basic service (telecommunications carriers, regulated) versus enhanced service (computer services, unregulated) dichotomy. Broadly speaking, the FCC concluded that basic telecommunications carriers networks must be open, and, if a telecommunications carrier offers enhanced services, it must do so through a separate corporate subsidiary. Everything that the telecommunications carrier sold to its own enhanced service, must be sold to all other enhanced services on the same terms and conditions. The FCC also restricted the ability of telecommunications carriers to bundle telecommunications services with
customer premises equipment
In telecommunications, a customer-premises equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) is any terminal and associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with a carrier's telecommunication circuit at the demarcation poi ...
(CPE), creating a new competitive market for telephones and modems. These rules were generally codified in Section 64.702 of the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
's Rules and Regulation.
Where ISPs and Telephone Companies Compete: A Guide to the Computer Inquiries
Enhanced Service Providers and Information Service Providers, Commlaw Conspectus (March 2001)
References
External links
Cybertelecom :: Computer Inquiries
Federal Communications Commission
{{US-law-stub