A ’theoretical link’ between special access and an AT&T forbearan...

requiring Bell companies to keep records that, among other tasks, separate interstate and intrastate costs (CD April 15 p8). Two orders are circulating on the eighth floor, one to approve and one to deny. McDowell is seen as the swing vote on the AT&T petition. As a Republican, he is seen as favoring forbearance. However, some data AT&T wants to stop collecting could be used in a special access action McDowell and other commissioners want to resolve, the lawyer said. And McDowell has called for more special access data in public statements, he said. The conflict theory is “plausible,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Kaut. But McDowell might be able to work with Commissioner Deborah Tate on a compromise carving out data useful to the special access proceeding, he said. Tate’s position on AT&T forbearance also is unclear, Kaut said. Republican Tate is seen as likely to grant forbearance. However, as a former state commissioner, she could embrace states’ opposition, he said. Then again, the apparent conflict might not be the “dilemma” some think, said Earl Comstock, an industry consultant. One shouldn’t assume “all Republicans vote for AT&T,” he said. If McDowell deems the AT&T data useful for the special access proceeding, he said, he'll vote to deny forbearance. Meanwhile, an FCC source pooh-poohed the theory, saying the forbearance and special access proceedings are “a little too disjointed” to figure in McDowell’s decision. Still, the McDowell office hasn’t made up its mind about the AT&T petition, the source said.