Telco Coalition Forms To Oppose FCC Business Broadband Proposal

CenturyLink and Frontier have teamed up with a handful of other telecommunications companies in a new coalition to push back on the Federal Communications Commission's proposed reforms of special access market (the business services market the FCC has rebranded BDS or business data services). Also in the coalition are Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, and FairPoint.

The coalition, dubbed "Invest in Broadband for America," called the FCC proposal sweeping and questionable--it is also being questioned by cable operators providing BDS competition. "First and foremost, it is crucial that the FCC get the data right on competition in the marketplace before flying blindly into a major policy decision,” said John Jones, CenturyLink SVP, in announcing the new effort. “Important decisions are best made with accurate data. What is at stake here is the definition of ‘competition.’ That definition will have a substantial impact on the telecom and national economy for years to come. Think investment, suppliers, employees, infrastructure and contractors.”