Four U.S. senators on Monday urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to request the Supreme Court review contested phone rules the FCC released last year, arguing that billions of dollars in consumer savings are at stake.
Senators Ted Stevens (R-Ala.), Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) said a court decision released earlier this month could deprive consumers of a choice of local phone providers, and result in higher bills.
Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled the FCC illegally delegated to state regulators the authority to determine what parts of the local phone network the four regional Bells must lease to competitors at government-mandated rates.
“The Bells and other incumbent carriers have responded to new entrants by reducing prices and investing in new technology to remain competitive. If consumers no longer have a choice of local telephone service provider[s], however, the incumbents will have little if any incentive to keep telephone rates competitive or to provide new and innovative services,” the senators said in the letter to Ashcroft.
“This issue is critical for jobs as well. Up to 70,000 jobs created by competitors are at risk, and millions of dollars in investment could be lost overnight,” the senators added.
On March 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed its decision vacating the FCC rules for 60 days. It is unclear how the decision affects the interconnection agreements between the Bells and other local phone companies, such as AT&T Corp.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell last week called on local phone companies to privately negotiate wholesale rates with the Bells for 30 days, and said he would propose adopting interim rules if those negotiations failed. However, the FCC majority – commissioners Kevin Martin, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein – wants the nation’s highest court to review the phone rules they voted on more than a year ago.
