Special Access Action Against ILECs Would Kill Jobs, CWA Says
Competitive telecom providers "seek to gain competitive advantage through regulatory arbitrage" in the FCC special access proceeding, the Communications Workers of America said. In an ex parte letter posted Monday in docket 05-25, CWA President Christopher Shelton said that the…
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FCC will find the special access market to be "highly competitive" if it counts cable providers in its data collection. If the FCC were to disagree with this approach and side with CLEC arguments, it would kill jobs and network investment by ILECs, he said. CLECs and cable companies "want to subject incumbent providers to regulatory constraints, including price regulation, while they are free to negotiate discount prices and other favorable conditions," Shelton said. He added that while AT&T, Verizon and other incumbents employ skilled union workers, cable companies and CLECs "pay lower wages and benefits, make extensive use of a less-skilled, contract workforce, and block their employees' efforts at collective organization." The fight over the FCC's review of the special access market has been heating up, with ILECs and competitors sparring over market data analysis (see 1603280027).