Verizon Asks FCC To Zap Dominion Virginia Power's Pole Attachment Rates
Verizon wants the FCC to intervene in a pole attachment dispute with Dominion Virginia Power. Dominion (also known as Virginia Electric and Power Co.) under a joint-use agreement charges Verizon pole-attachment rental rates that are "excessive and increasing," the telco…
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said in a complaint posted Tuesday, which had specific prices and costs redacted. Verizon said it should get the same rate as comparable providers under the new telecom rate or the cable rate authorized under the commission's 2011 order that aimed to drive town telco pole-attachment rates to levels comparable with cable rates. Verizon said it had paid (a redacted amount) more in gross rent each year than it would have paid under the commission’s new telecom rate. "And its overpayments did not begin with the Pole Attachment Order," Verizon said. "For decades, it has paid far more than its competitors for comparable pole attachment terms and conditions. The Commission’s 2011 Order -- and the Enforcement Bureau’s 2015 decision applying the Order in the Verizon Florida proceeding -- make clear that this competitive disparity must end, as it both distorts competition and discourages broadband deployment. But Dominion has stonewalled and rebuffed Verizon’s efforts to negotiate a just and reasonable rental rate for nearly twenty-two months." Verizon asked the FCC to reject Dominion's efforts and "find that the rates that Dominion has charged Verizon are unjust and unreasonable, and set Verizon’s rate for the comparable (or less advantageous) terms in the Joint Use Agreement at the new telecom rate that applies to Verizon’s competitors." The telco also asked the FCC to order Dominion to refund the amounts that it had overpaid. "Dominion has negotiated these agreements with Verizon in good faith, but regretfully we have reached an impasse," emailed the utility. "We will reply in a timely manner."