FCC efforts to give wireline broadband services regulatory parity...
FCC efforts to give wireline broadband services regulatory parity could harm rural and small telephone firms unless the FCC moves to protect them, 6 groups representing small telephone companies warned in a July 22 ex parte filing. The FCC,…
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in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brand X ruling, is expected to act soon on a plan to give phone firms parity with cable broadband services, the associations said. However, the FCC “should bear in mind that not all wireline carriers are similarly situated,” the filing said: “While regulatory parity may be expected to stimulate investment in broadband networks in areas served by larger wireline carriers, mandatory deregulation of wireline broadband services may have the opposite effect in areas served by smaller rate of return carriers.” More than 900 small firms offer DSL under National Exchange Carrier Assn. (NECA) tariffs and participate in revenue pools, the filing said. The FCC should preserve this option for rate-of-return carriers, since pooling gives firms “stable cash flows and protection against unexpected demand reductions or increased costs,” the groups said: “Absent pooling, for example, the potential loss of only one large customer could make a significant difference in whether a rural company can risk investments in new service deployments… Rate-of-return carriers face financial and competitive circumstances that differ markedly from those faced by larger companies. These companies may be forced to increase DSL rates or perhaps refrain from enhancing or even offering broadband services if existing tariff and pool mechanisms become unavailable to them.” The filing was signed by NECA, OPASTCO, USTelecom (USTA), the National Telecom Co-op Assn., the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance and the Western Telecom Alliance.