Entering a dispute between Verizon and the State Corporation Comm...
Entering a dispute between Verizon and the State Corporation Commission of Virginia, the FCC told an appeals court it believes federal law preempts a condition the state placed on the 2005 Verizon-MCI merger. The FCC told the U.S. Court…
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of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., that the 1934 Communications Act exclusively authorizes the FCC to regulate interstate terms. So, it said in a Feb. 19 brief, the Virginia body “lacks authority to regulate interstate special access services through a merger condition.” The FCC told the court that “in the government’s view, the merger condition at issue in this case is therefore preempted.” The Virginia commission imposed a special access condition on both intrastate and interstate special access services. The condition required Verizon to continue offering special access on its terms before the merger, at prices that aren’t any higher. The condition lasts until the Virginia commission concludes that there’s enough competition to assure reasonable rates. The FCC filed the brief at the court’s request.