Level 3 is pleased AT&T and Verizon are proposing a per- system r...
Level 3 is pleased AT&T and Verizon are proposing a per- system regulatory fee for submarine cable systems, but questions remain, Bill Hunt, Level 3 Public Policy vice president, said Thursday in an interview. The plan, filed earlier this…
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week (CD Sept 4 p10), partly follows a proposal by Level 3 and other private submarine cable operators that the Bells had opposed, Hunt said. A per-system fee is “the way we need to go,” he said. But Hunt called unclear one part of the proposal stipulating that smaller cables would pay lower per-system fees than others. The proposal might shift too much burden to large cable providers, and exempt some providers from paying anything at all, he said: “Where do you draw the line?” The submarine cable operators, AT&T and Verizon were in contact prior to the carriers’ proposal, and the submarine cable operators are trying to schedule another meeting, he said. The FCC has promised to act by October on the submarine cable fee issue.