AT&T Rivals Must Build New Networks: 7th Circuit

New phone companies' reliance on network infrastructure supplied by established carriers stifles competition and innovation in the U.S. telecommunications market, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on Friday. The court said that incumbent carriers continue to be monopolies in the market and require regulation by state and federal agencies. Ruling on a challenge by AT&T over its obligations to supply new entrants with unbundled network services under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the court said the phone giant was not required to provide rivals with access to stat-of-the-art fiber-optic loops, as a state regulator had concluded.
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