The United States Telecom Association (USTA), Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications filed papers with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking to block the six month freeze in local access rules announced by the FCC last week.
The two RBOCs contend that the FCC exceeded its legal authority and has no power to extend the requirement for leasing lines beyond the court’s recent ruling.
“For nearly a decade, we have waited for the FCC to put lawful rules in place for the telecom industry. Unfortunately, after four attempts, missed deadlines, instability and delay, we are again forced to ask the court to intervene to bring certainty and clarity to the industry. The Commission must put lawful, permanent rules in place by the end of this year so that all providers can move forward on a competitive basis,” said Walter B. McCormick, Jr., President and CEO of the United States Telecom Association. http://www.usta.org
- Late last week, the FCC issued a long awaited order freezing any changes in the current local access competition rules for six months. During this period, the Commission intends to develop and then vote on a new set of alternative unbundling rules, hopefully overcoming the legal pitfalls that led to the previous Triennial Review Order being vacated by the courts. Under the temporary rules, incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) are required to continue providing unbundled access to switching, enterprise market loops, and dedicated transport under the same rates, terms and conditions that applied under their interconnection agreements as of June 15, 2004.