USTelecom Makes Its Case Against Special Access Regulation

USTelecom argues its case against special access regulation in a three-piece set of white papers issued late during the week of Feb 8. USTelecom represents incumbent telecommunication carriers, including the nation’s largest telecommunication companies AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink. The move comes at a time when the Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to relax or increase its oversight over pricing for special access circuits – links that provide “last mile” connectivity between a carrier’s core network and a business customer location, cellsite or other location. These connections are often sold on a wholesale basis to competitive carriers, who argue that prices are too high. Coming in at a combined total of 45 pages, each of the USTelecom white papers focuses on a different area:

“The Broadband Economy is Thriving” argues that “price-regulating the networks that support the broadband Internet economy is unnecessary when competitive market forces are capable of ensuring affordable service to consumers.”
“The Competitive Business Broadband Marketplace” documents cable company success in building out network infrastructure and in making substantial inroads into the business and backhaul markets.
“The FCC Should Not Pick Winners and Losers” argues that “with competition rising and the prices that customers pay falling, there is no need for new or additional regulation of this thriving marketplace.”