Unbundled Network Element

UNE (Pronounced you nee): The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that the ILECs (Incumben Local Exchange Carriers) unbundle their NEs (Network Elements), which must be made available to the CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) on the basis of incremental cost. This means that CLECs will pay the additional costs the ILECs incur in making these facilities available. The words "incremental cost" are meant to signal to the ILECs that they are not to inflate the price of these facilities by adding overhead costs (e.g., the salary of the ILEC's people in the charge of investor relations). UNEs are defined as physical and functional elements of the network, e.g., NIDs (Network Interface Devices), local loops, switch ports, and dedicated and common transport facilities. When combined into a complete set in order to provide an end-to-end circuit, the UNEs constitute a UNE-P (UNE-Platform). Unbundled Network Elements is a term used in negotiations between a CLEC and the ILEC to describe the various network components that will be used or leased by the CLEC from the ILEC. These components include such things as the actual copper wire to the customers, fiber strands, and local switching. The CLEC will lease these UNEs with pricing based on the previously-signed Interconnection Agreement between the CLEC and the ILEC. Typically, a CLEC will collocate a switch at the ILEC's wire center, then pay for the "unbundled" local loop to make a connection to the customer. Alternately, a CLEC might lease both an unbundled local loop and an unbundled switch, and make a connection to their network at the LEC's switch.