FCC action on special access could be an “IP-transition bellwether,” Medley...
FCC action on special access could be an “IP-transition bellwether,” Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeff Silva said in an analyst report Thursday. The special access initiative “will remain a risk and regulatory overhang for ILECs” such as AT&T, Verizon and…
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CenturyLink, who along with Republicans “may attempt a major play to link what they regard as ill-advised special access regulatory activity to growing calls by AT&T, Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai and others for landline telecom deregulation within [the IP] transition context,” Silva wrote. Commissioners approved the long-awaited special access data collection order 5-0 late Tuesday, which will seek data on the state of competition in the marketplace (CD Dec 13 p5). Chairman Julius Genachowski’s announcement of a “Technology Transitions Task Force” to address the growing move from copper circuit switched networks to IP-based wired and 4G-based wireless platforms (CD Dec 11 p5) “could complicate any move to re-regulate special access in a material fashion,” Silva said.