{
  "node_id": "us-47-cfr-part-51-interconnection",
  "title": "47 CFR Part 51 - Interconnection: Duty to Negotiate, Unbundled Network Elements, Collocation and Reciprocal Compensation",
  "domain": "Telecoms & Digital Infrastructure",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "last_updated": "2026-06-26",
  "bluf": "47 CFR Part 51 implements the interconnection, unbundling, collocation and intercarrier compensation duties that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (sections 251 and 252 of the Communications Act) imposes on incumbent local exchange carriers (incumbent LECs) and requesting telecommunications carriers. Section 51.301 establishes the duty to negotiate in good faith the terms and conditions of agreements that fulfill the duties under sections 251(b) and (c) of the Act, applying to both the incumbent LEC and the requesting carrier, and lists actions that violate that duty. Section 51.307 requires an incumbent LEC to provide nondiscriminatory access to network elements on an unbundled basis at any technically feasible point, on terms that are just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory, in accordance with sections 251 and 252 of the Act. Section 51.323 sets the standards for physical and virtual collocation, requiring an incumbent LEC to provide collocation to requesting carriers and to permit the collocation of equipment necessary for interconnection or access to unbundled network elements. Section 51.221 provides that the rules governing reciprocal compensation are set out in subpart H of Part 51, establishing the framework under which carriers compensate each other for the transport and termination of traffic. Part 51 is the operative federal rule that turns the statutory open-network duties of the 1996 Act into enforceable obligations for competitive local entry in the United States.",
  "paywall": {
    "status": "LOCKED",
    "unlock_cost_usd": "0.01",
    "skyfire_id": "41779894-ece2-4163-9761-b3b1b76e19b0"
  },
  "crosswalks": {
    "_available_keys": [
      "nist_framework",
      "iso_standard",
      "industry_mapping",
      "ai_overlay_2026"
    ],
    "_note": "Full crosswalk values included in vault response"
  },
  "dependencies": [
    "us-communications-act-1934"
  ],
  "primary_citations_count": 7
}