Ark. appeals court vacated and remanded 1999 PSC order approving ...
Ark. appeals court vacated and remanded 1999 PSC order approving sale of GTE assets to Century Tel. Ark. Court of Appeals, in 3-2 ruling on suit brought by Southwestern Bell and Alltel, said PSC erred in using 1985 access…
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parity order requiring incumbent telcos to set same rates for intrastate and interstate access as basis for setting postpurchase intrastate access charges. At time of purchase, Century Tel asked FCC to convert interstate operations from price caps to rate-of-return regulation, which effectively doubled its interstate access charges. Plaintiffs argued corresponding increase in intrastate access charges was unjust, unreasonable and inconsistent with public interest. Appeals court majority (Case 99-220-U) said case record wasn’t developed sufficiently to decide whether application of access charge parity would result in just and reasonable intrastate access charges. Case was remanded to PSC with instructions to reconsider basis for intrastate access rates.