Mary Retka Director, Network Policy Qwest

1. Broadband-The Best WayPresentation toOctober 9, 2007 NARUC Accounting and Finance Meeting in Jackson, WY Mary Retka Director, Network Policy Qwest

2. Topics • Background • Broadband Deployment • FCC’s Efforts Through NRIC • Current Broadband Drivers • Qwest’s Broadband Proposal • Questions

3. President Bush on Broadband “This country needs a national goal for broadband technology, for the spread of broadband technology. We ought to have a universal, affordable access for broadband technology by the year 2007, and then we ought to make sure as soon as possible thereafter, (that) consumers have got plenty of choices when it comes to purchasing the broadband carrier.” – President George W. Bush March 26, 2004Speech in Farmington, NM

5. Data Modem Today 7.6 inches x 6.4 inches x 1.3 inches

6. Broadband Deployment • A 2005 OECD report ranked the U.S. 12th in global next generation broadband deployment • (OECD Broadband Statistics, December 2005) • Average 2007 Internet-generated IP traffic is over 9,000 terabytes per day • (IDC, U.S. Consumer Internet-Generated IP Traffic Analysis, 2006-2012) • The U. S. dropped from 17th to 20th place in the world for broadband penetration over the past year • (http:www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0607/)

7. Broadband Deployment • The FCC reported on January 31, 2007 the results of their report “High-Speed Services for Internet Access: Status as of June 30, 2006”: • “For the full twelve month period ending June 30, 2006, high-speed lines increased by 52% (or 22.2 million lines).” • “As a nationwide average, we estimate that high-speed DSL connections were available to 79% of the households to whom incumbent LECs could provide local telephone service as of June 30, 2006, and that high-speed cable modem service was available to 93% of the households to whom cable system operators could provide cable TV service.”

8. Broadband Deployment • Many current architectures: • FTTN, FTTP, FTTH, DSL, Cable Modem, BPL, Satellite, Dial Up, ISDN, T1/DS1, WiFi, WiMAX • Architectural variations available in a competitive environment allow for customers to choose the best solution for individual needs. • A variety of solutions drives service providers to work to achieve best practices in their deployments, providing service features to meet customer expectations.

9. Broadband Deployment • FCC Oversight: • Broadband ruled to be an Information Service (FCC 05-150) • 477 reports • FCC NRIC efforts • ATIS Industry Forums on DSL, ATM, WiMAX, Wireless Broadband, Cable • Current Pending Items: FCC NOI 07-45, FCC NPRM 07-38

10. FCC’s NRIC VII Efforts • NRIC Concept – (Network Reliability Interoperability Council) – FCC Advisory Council • NRIC VII Focus Group 4 Charter • The Council shall present recommendations to increase the deployment of high-speed residential Internet access service. The Council shall include Best Practices and service features that are, and will be, technology-neutral. The Council’s recommendations shall be prepared in such a way as: (1) to ensure service compatibility; (2) to facilitate application innovation; and (3) to improve the security, reliability and interoperability of both residential user systems and service provider systems. • Final Report (provided separately)

11. FCC’s NRIC VII Focus Group 4 • Defined Residential Internet Access Service • Identified Broadband Infrastructure Architectures • Worked with Broadband Best Practices and Augmented those • Developed Service Features List • Worked within Technology Neutrality Parameters

12. FCC’s NRIC VII Focus Group 4 • Residential Internet Access Service: • The term Residential Internet Access encompasses the many different commercially available ways for Residential Consumers to access the Internet. • The use of this term in the context of this deliverable is not application specific. • Residential Internet Access is considered to be a pathway from the subscriber to the public Internet. • Broadband technology should be viewed in terms of having sufficient bandwidth to provide satisfactory performance while accommodating a wider range of customers, applications and technological requirements. • It is viewed to be always-available access technology so long as the user’s Internet device is turned on, and requires no additional user activity to function. • It has sufficient bandwidth to support multiple applications simultaneously. • The area of concentration for this focus group is to offer recommendations to further advance the domestic use of broadband technology for Residential Internet Access.

13. FCC’s NRIC VII Focus Group 4 • Why Infrastructure Architectures? • Our scope efforts determined the need to identify all current generally available alternatives to provision high speed residential Internet access service. • We identified the most commonly known methods for high-speed residential Internet Access deployment. • The reference models, reflecting today’s existing environment, are segmented by the type of infrastructure deployed. • These reference models depict only those components of the architecture required to provide high-speed residential Internet access service. • While some of the reference models are geographically bounded, others are not geographically bounded.

14. FCC’s NRIC VII Focus Group 4 • The Development of Best Practices and Service Features: • Identified Best Practices that facilitate the deployment of high-speed residential Internet access service architectures. • Best Practices are within the parameters of: • deployment, • facilitation of high speed residential Internet access service, • the architectures in the Focus Group’s first deliverable, • the Charter requirements for technology neutrality, improved security, reliability, and interoperability. • Best Practices are currently being done, are the best means, and are relevant to the increased deployment of Residential Internet Access Service, and reference and relate to the Master Reference Model. • Service Features definitional aspects add to the Best Practices.

15. FCC’s NRIC VII Focus Group 4 • Working within the parameters of “technology neutrality” requires: • Understanding the expectation of the user of Residential Internet Access Service who migrates between providers unaware of the infrastructure variations of providers, yet with expectations of aspects and features of the service regardless of the provider. • Raising our discussions from a detailed technical, architecturally specific level to a more general functionally focused level.

16. Current Broadband Drivers • Continuing drivers: • Internet access • E-mail • Gaming • Instant messaging • Increasing drivers: • VoIP • Mobile Internet access • video over the Internet • FMC • Peer-to-peer file sharing • New deployment architectures: • WiFi • WiMAX • Femtocells

17. Qwest’s Broadband Proposal • On June 27, 2007, Qwest submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), in CC Docket No. 96-45 (In the Matter of Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service), a summary of its proposal for expanding the nation’s access to high-speed Internet service and for initiating reform of the Universal Service Fund. • Qwest’s proposal (provided separately) is a new model of providing universal service support to spur the development of broadband connections to unserved households.

18. Qwest’s Broadband Proposal • 3 Principles: • An emphasis on the importance of universal access to broadband and on funding for only one provider per unserved area to achieve that goal • Requires an evaluation of the specific demographics and needs of the unserved households • A delegation of authority to the states to administer and manage this universal service program

19. Broadband – The Best Way • As broadband providers continue to deploy more capacity and more capabilities, don’t constrain that deployment with burdensome regulation. • Let the marketplace drive the continuing efforts. • Consumer choice drives the broadband delivery method(s) used based on location, broadband content desired, and devices.

20. Questions ???