Sec. 51.323  Standards for physical collocation and virtual collocation.

    (a) An incumbent LEC shall provide physical collocation and virtual 
collocation to requesting telecommunications carriers.
    (b) An incumbent LEC shall permit the collocation of any type of 
equipment used for interconnection or access to unbundled network 
elements. Whenever an incumbent LEC objects to collocation of equipment 
by a requesting telecommunications carrier for purposes within the scope 
of section 251(c)(6) of the Act, the incumbent LEC shall prove to the 
state commission that the equipment will not be actually used by the 
telecommunications carrier for the purpose of obtaining interconnection 
or access to unbundled network elements. Equipment used for 
interconnection and access to unbundled network elements includes, but 
is not limited to:
    (1) Transmission equipment including, but not limited to, optical 
terminating equipment and multiplexers; and
    (2) Equipment being collocated to terminate basic transmission 
facilities pursuant to Secs. 64.1401 and 64.1402 of this chapter as of 
August 1, 1996.
    (c) Nothing in this section requires an incumbent LEC to permit 
collocation of switching equipment or equipment used to provide enhanced 
services.
    (d) When an incumbent LEC provides physical collocation, virtual 
collocation, or both, the incumbent LEC shall:
    (1) Provide an interconnection point or points, physically 
accessible by both the incumbent LEC and the collocating 
telecommunications carrier, at which the fiber optic cable carrying an 
interconnector's circuits can enter the incumbent LEC's premises, 
provided that the incumbent LEC shall designate interconnection points 
as close as reasonably possible to its premises;
    (2) Provide at least two such interconnection points at each 
incumbent LEC premises at which there are at least two entry points for 
the incumbent LEC's cable facilities, and at which space is available 
for new facilities in at least two of those entry points;
    (3) Permit interconnection of copper or coaxial cable if such 
interconnection is first approved by the state commission; and
    (4) Permit physical collocation of microwave transmission facilities 
except where such collocation is not practical for technical reasons or 
because of space limitations, in which case virtual collocation of such 
facilities is required where technically feasible.
    (e) When providing virtual collocation, an incumbent LEC shall, at a 
minimum, install, maintain, and repair collocated equipment identified 
in paragraph (b) of this section within the same time periods and with 
failure rates that are no greater than those that apply to the 
performance of similar functions for comparable equipment of the 
incumbent LEC itself.
    (f) An incumbent LEC shall allocate space for the collocation of the 
equipment identified in paragraph (b) of this section in accordance with 
the following requirements:
    (1) An incumbent LEC shall make space available within or on its 
premises to requesting telecommunications carriers on a first-come, 
first-served basis, provided, however, that the incumbent LEC shall not 
be required to lease or construct additional space to provide for 
physical collocation when existing space has been exhausted;
    (2) To the extent possible, an incumbent LEC shall make contiguous 
space available to requesting telecommunications carriers that seek to 
expand their existing collocation space;
    (3) When planning renovations of existing facilities or constructing 
or leasing new facilities, an incumbent LEC shall take into account 
projected demand for collocation of equipment;
    (4) An incumbent LEC may retain a limited amount of floor space for 
its own specific future uses, provided, however, that the incumbent LEC 
may not reserve space for future use on terms

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more favorable than those that apply to other telecommunications 
carriers seeking to reserve collocation space for their own future use;
    (5) An incumbent LEC shall relinquish any space held for future use 
before denying a request for virtual collocation on the grounds of space 
limitations, unless the incumbent LEC proves to the state commission 
that virtual collocation at that point is not technically feasible; and
    (6) An incumbent LEC may impose reasonable restrictions on the 
warehousing of unused space by collocating telecommunications carriers, 
provided, however, that the incumbent LEC shall not set maximum space 
limitations applicable to such carriers unless the incumbent LEC proves 
to the state commission that space constraints make such restrictions 
necessary.
    (g) An incumbent LEC shall permit collocating telecommunications 
carriers to collocate equipment and connect such equipment to unbundled 
network transmission elements obtained from the incumbent LEC, and shall 
not require such telecommunications carriers to bring their own 
transmission facilities to the incumbent LEC's premises in which they 
seek to collocate equipment.
    (h) An incumbent LEC shall permit a collocating telecommunications 
carrier to interconnect its network with that of another collocating 
telecommunications carrier at the incumbent LEC's premises and to 
connect its collocated equipment to the collocated equipment of another 
telecommunications carrier within the same premises provided that the 
collocated equipment is also used for interconnection with the incumbent 
LEC or for access to the incumbent LEC's unbundled network elements.
    (1) An incumbent LEC shall provide the connection between the 
equipment in the collocated spaces of two or more telecommunications 
carriers, unless the incumbent LEC permits one or more of the 
collocating parties to provide this connection for themselves; and
    (2) An incumbent LEC is not required to permit collocating 
telecommunications carriers to place their own connecting transmission 
facilities within the incumbent LEC's premises outside of the actual 
physical collocation space.
    (i) An incumbent LEC may require reasonable security arrangements to 
separate a collocating telecommunications carrier's space from the 
incumbent LEC's facilities.
    (j) An incumbent LEC shall permit a collocating telecommunications 
carrier to subcontract the construction of physical collocation 
arrangements with contractors approved by the incumbent LEC, provided, 
however, that the incumbent LEC shall not unreasonably withhold approval 
of contractors. Approval by an incumbent LEC shall be based on the same 
criteria it uses in approving contractors for its own purposes.