Irregulators Predicts State 'Scrum,' Lower Prices if Court Vacates FCC Costs Freeze
If a coalition of ex-FCC and other officials prevails against the agency, consumer costs could fall after changes, those in the Irregulators informal group told reporters Thursday. In July, they asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit…
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to hear oral argument on an order that extended a freeze on rules allocating most telecom costs to intrastate rather than interstate services, case 19-1085 (see 1907220051). "If we win and the FCC is forced to revisit" telecom accounting rules, Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America director-research, predicted "a scrum at the local level" over fee revenue and investments in legacy networks. "It's impossible for the consumer not to be better off" after such a win because it would reinvigorate state commissions to examine the issue more closely, said Bruce Kushnick, New Networks executive director. Reallocation could disrupt the flow of money from legacy phone services that subsidizes competitive services like wireless and broadband, speakers said. The petitioners plan reply in Irregulators v. FCC next week, said Cooper.