Mich. PSC ordered Verizon North to reduce its intrastate access c...

last July 13. AT&T said refund would run to millions of dollars. PSC ruling was on Sept. complaint filed by AT&T (Case U-13125) charging that Verizon had violated provision in state’s price cap law that capped intrastate access at interstate rate and allowed no exceptions. Complaint arose after Verizon last July cut its interstate access charges under FCC-approved CALLS access reform plan but didn’t mirror those cuts on intrastate side. Result, said AT&T, was intrastate access charges on some rate elements that were double or triple corresponding interstate rate. Verizon said state cap law was equally adamant that it couldn’t price any service below total service long run incremental cost (TSLRIC) floor and mirroring interstate rate cuts would violate that provision. Since there was no PSC ruling to determine which of those conflicting provisions to obey, Verizon said safest legal course was to leave intrastate access rates unchanged. PSC ruled that law’s very specific ceiling on access charges took precedence over its more general cost floor for all services, so Verizon should have cut its intrastate access charges when it lowered its interstate rates even if resulting rates were below TSLRIC. PSC rejected AT&T’s requests to fine Verizon and make it reimburse AT&T’s legal fees, saying this was first case to address those conflicting statutory provisions and Verizon had plausible grounds for its position. Verizon also had contended access cap was unconstitutional on due process grounds and because it denied carrier’s rights to recover costs, but PSC said that claim belonged in courts. As administrative agency, PSC said it must presume statutes it enforces are constitutional.