FCC Launches Probe of Large Telco Special-Access Terms and Conditions
The FCC Friday opened an investigation into the special-access terms and conditions of AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier and Verizon in the market for business data services. CLECs allege the terms and conditions "are unreasonable, anticompetitive, and lock up the vast majority of the demand for TDM-based business data services -- assertions that the ILECs have disputed," noted a Wireline Bureau order in docket 15-247 designating issues to be investigated.
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"With substantial advocacy in the record on both sides of the issues, we believe that a more systematic inquiry into the tariff pricing plans in question is needed before any determination on the merits can be made," the bureau said. "By initiating this investigation, the Bureau intends to gather sufficient information to enable the full Commission to decide whether and how to resolve these allegations." The FCC is conducting a broader review of the business market and special-access services in docket 05-25.
"Through this investigation, the Bureau will seek additional data from the incumbent LECs on which to base an objective evaluation of the reasonableness of the tariff pricing plan terms and conditions that are designated for investigation here," the bureau added. "We emphasize that the inquiry we initiate today is concerned with the effects of the terms and conditions at issue on competition, innovation, and end-user consumers. While, as would be expected, the current allegations and evidence largely arise from competitive LECs, the ultimate question is not whether a particular competitive LEC is harmed but whether there is harm to competition."
Various CLECs and others applauded or voiced sympathy for the FCC probe: the Broadband Coalition, Competify, Competitive Carriers Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Level 3, Sprint, Windstream, and Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. ILECs voiced concerns, with AT&T calling the FCC action "perplexing" and "a step towards re-regulation in a space that's highly competitive and getting more so." USTelecom said the agency had a "rear-view mirror approach" and "a telephone-era mindset."