Court overrules FCC on phone competition

[Dave Farber <dave () FARBER NET>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:24:21 -0500
From: "Peter D. Junger" <junger () samsara law cwru edu>
Subject: Court overrules FCC on phone competition
To: dave () farber net
Cc: junger () samsara law cwru edu
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For IP if you like.

<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-FCC-Phone-Competition.html?hp>

                             Court Tosses Rules for Phone Competition (p1 
of 3)

   WASHINGTON  (AP) -- An appeals court on Tuesday rejected federal rules
   giving  states  more  authority to determine which companies may offer
   local phone service within their borders.

   The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously
   sided  with  former  Bell companies Verizon, BellSouth, SBC and Qwest.
   They   claimed   the  rules  adopted  by  the  Federal  Communications
   Commission forced them to give competitors access to their networks at
   artificially low prices.

   It's the third time the commission's attempts to write rules for local
   telephone  service  competition  have been rejected by the courts. The
   latest  ruling decried the FCC's ``apparent unwillingness to adhere to
   prior judicial rulings.''

   At issue is how to spur competition for local telephone service, which
   Congress mandated in 1996.

[snip]

   The  rules  were  the result of a contentious 3-2 FCC vote in February
   2003.  Chairman  Michael Powell was on the losing end of the vote, the
   first  time  he  had  been  on  the  losing side since taking over the
   five-member panel in 2001.

   Powell  applauded  the  court decision and said he already has ordered
   the FCC staff to begin work on new rules.

   The  court  did uphold other rules requiring the former Bell companies
   to  allow  providers  of  high-speed DSL Internet service to use their
   copper  wires, but not upgraded fiber optic or fiber-copper lines. The
   FCC  said  requiring  the  companies to provide access to the upgraded
   lines  would  act  as  a  disincentive for the former Bells to develop
   better systems.


--
Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
 EMAIL: junger () samsara law cwru edu    URL:  http://samsara.law.cwru.edu
     NOTE: junger () pdj2-ra f-remote cwru edu no longer exists 

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