Competitors Withdraw Request That Court Force FCC Action on Special Access Reform
CompTel and its allies withdrew a petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asking the court to grant a writ of mandamus that would have forced the FCC to act on special access reform. The agency was due to file its response Friday. Commission officials asked competitors in recent days to withdraw the petition, saying an order was being readied by the Wireline Bureau, industry officials told us. The court acted quickly to grant the request in an order handed down shortly after competitors made their filing Thursday.
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"Based on recent discussions with the FCC regarding its intention and plans to move forward with and complete the special access services rulemaking, Petitioners hereby withdraw the Petition without prejudice and request that this Court voluntarily dismiss the above-captioned matter,” CompTel and co-petitioners said in a filing Thursday with the court.
"We are pleased the mandamus petitioners have filed a motion to withdraw,” a commission spokesman said. “FCC staff will continue their work of timely and responsibly resolving the long-pending special access proceeding.” The case was brought by CompTel, the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, BT Americas, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, Rural Cellular Association and tw telecom.
In July, competitors asked the D.C. Circuit to force the commission “to conclude a long overdue rulemaking on special access pricing reform.” AT&T, in 2003 prior to its purchase by SBC, filed a petition asking the same court to order the FCC to act on a 2002 petition seeking changes to special access rules. The court dismissed AT&T’s mandamus petition after the FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seven years ago, though no action by the agency has followed. In September, the FCC asked for additional data on the special access market.
In October, the FCC asked the court not to grant the mandamus petition. “The FCC has not unreasonably delayed completion of its special access rulemaking,” the commission said then. “That proceeding involves intensely fact-bound issues. Notwithstanding petitioners’ undeveloped assertions to this Court, those issues cannot adequately be addressed until the Commission itself compiles an evidentiary record that is sufficient to evaluate current conditions in the special access market.”