International Trade Today is a Warren News publication.

CompSouth complained about AT&T’s changes to terms and...

CompSouth complained about AT&T’s changes to terms and conditions of its special access tariffs in a filing before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. “CompSouth submits that these 20% to 30% increases in the price of A&T’s special access services are unjust,…

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.

unreasonable, discriminatory, and anti-competitive and that AT&T’s announced intention to discontinue offering these services to competitive carriers is unreasonable, discriminatory, and anti-competitive,” the group of CLECs said in its filing (http://1.usa.gov/KoOZo4). CompSouth asked the Tennessee regulators to consider the legality of AT&T’s tariff amendments and whether they are necessary for a transition to IP services, as AT&T has contended. “CompSouth’s complaint in Tennessee against AT&T’s anti-competitive proposal to eliminate long-term special access discount plans raises a number of important questions that AT&T must answer,” Karen Reidy, Comptel vice president-regulatory affairs, told us in a statement. “In addition to pointing out the harmful impact of AT&T’s unilateral, unjustified, price increase for these services, which impacts consumers’ ability to obtain competitive robust, innovative and high-quality services, CompSouth effectively challenges AT&T claims that it is not feasible to offer these services after it transitions to IP and calls on AT&T to explain how it will provide alternative wholesale offerings to competitors.” “We continue to meet with our customers in a good-faith effort to address their needs,” an AT&T spokeswoman told us. “As the transition to more robust and efficient Internet-based network and services moves forward, we will remain flexible in attempting to meet their needs."