Global Crossing: FCC Should Regulate Internet Interconnection Fees

Network services provider Global Crossing -- which like Level 3 serves business Internet customers and not residential subscribers -- has officially weighed in on Level 3's side of the dispute with Comcast, urging the Federal Communications Commission to regulate interconnection pricing of last-mile Internet service providers, saying the dispute between Comcast and Level 3 Communications shows broadband ISPs are "distorting" the economics of traditional peering relationships.

Broadband ISPs such as Comcast are "distorting the economics of the historical peering relationships that existed between carriers, citing concerns about traffic 'balance' in order to justify the creation of what amounts to a new access charge regime for the Internet," Paul Kouroupas, vice president of regulatory affairs for Global Crossing North America, wrote in a letter Friday to the FCC. The FCC should intervene in the Comcast/Level 3 matter and ensure that similar disputes do not arise in the future, Global Crossing said, by regulating the ability of last-mile providers to charge for use of their networks in the same way the agency regulates call-termination fees charged by competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and wireless carriers.