In a Friday filing, Embarq sought conditional FCC waiver of price...
In a Friday filing, Embarq sought conditional FCC waiver of price cap rules, allowing Embarq local operating companies to unify interstate and intrastate switched access rates. In a July 17 filing AT&T made its own carrier-specific waiver proposal. “Regulatory…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
arbitrage of switched access charges disproportionately harms rural carriers such as Embarq,” the carrier said. “The arbitrage is fueled in particular by wide disparities between interstate and intrastate terminating switched access rates. Those rate disparities are common and they are the widest in rural areas where lower population densities result in increased per customer costs.” Embarq’s proposal would unify switched access rates by study area, on a revenue neutral basis, by cutting intrastate rates, a spokesman said Friday. The drop would be offset by raising interstate rates less, she said. Waiver would be conditional, by study area, on state commission tariff approval. Unified rates would apply until the FCC implements pending comprehensive intercarrier compensation and universal compensation reforms. “This carrier-specific waiver also can help advance these reform efforts, while having no impact on consumers or the Universal Service Fund during the interim,” the spokesman said. AT&T’s plan would lower intrastate rates, a move offset by increasing subscriber line charges on end-users and raising some originating access rates, the spokesman said. Embarq’s filing argues that AT&T’s approach is not suitable for rural carriers.