A license to steal

[formercia]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-brodsky/bad-fcc-decision-could-co_b_70313.htm

by Art Brodsky

Posted October 29, 2007 | 05:37 PM (EST)

Trying to figure out what goes on at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a daunting task, particularly when it gets to the telecommunications/telephone issues. Like those new commercials for the Chevy Malibu when a woman runs into a car because it's too boring to be seen, the concepts at the FCC are viewed from the outside as totally boring and technical, not worthy of attention to all but the most dedicated reporter or public advocate.

Here's one of those concepts: Forbearance. Here's a rule of thumb: The more innocuous the word, the more money is on the table.

"Forbearance" means a company asks the FCC not to regulate it, even though the Commission legally has the power to do so. In this case, Verizon has asked the FCC to "forbear" from regulating some of the services it provides in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence and Virginia Beach. It just so happens that the services it wants to be essentially deregulated are the very ones on which Verizon's competitors depend.

Applying the rule of thumb to the obscure word "forbear," how many reasons are there for the FCC to reject the deregulation petitions? How about 2.4 billion? That's not a number pulled from the air. A new study, sponsored by XO, Covad and other of the hardy band of surviving competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), found that if the petitions are granted, consumers and businesses will pay $2.4 billion more for local phone service, high-speed Internet service and business connections.

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[Stargazer99]

1. Our national god, capitalism, at work , competition my arse

[formercia]

2. The old Bell System rises from the ashes

bit by bit becoming the only phone company in town.