WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - July 22, 2008) - XO Communications CEO Carl J. Grivner today
warned Congressional leaders that incumbent operators' efforts to halt
competitors' access to last mile connections remain the single greatest
threat to telecom competition and America's broadband future, and pressed
for rules that protect the public interest.
In testimony before the U.S. House Telecommunications Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet, Grivner condemned the Baby Bells'
continuing campaigns to restrict competitors' access to last mile legacy
network facilities. The Bells' chief tactics are "copper cartel"
initiatives that shut down copper lines, and regulatory forbearance
petitions designed to end pro-competitive wholesale rates for local
transport and facilities.
Grivner said, "The predominant issue of 21st century telecommunications is
broadband choice and options for businesses and consumers which allow them
to choose their broadband provider based on customer need. The competitive
industry has been a major source of billions of dollars in investment for
broadband deployment and innovation. But we continually face incumbents'
efforts to restrict access to essential last mile links that are critical
to competitive broadband offerings."
Grivner charged the incumbents with using "copper cartel" programs to limit
consumers' access to new copper-based broadband services offered by
competitors.
"Legacy copper networks constructed over the past century -- and funded by
ratepayers -- are ubiquitous, reaching the vast majority of businesses and
over 100 million U.S. households," Grivner said. "New technologies have
transformed copper network capabilities from simple voice and dial-up to a
major vehicle of broadband communications with speeds of 45 Mbps today and
100 Mbps in the not too distant future. When incumbents cut copper lines,
they are really disconnecting businesses and consumers from an important
and readily available broadband alternative."
Grivner also criticized the Baby Bells' use of the Telecom Act forbearance
statute to end-run pro-competitive wholesale pricing rules for last mile
connections, and praised Congressional efforts to eliminate the onerous
"deemed granted" provision of the law.
"This Committee has taken an important step by introducing H.R. 3914, the
'Protecting Consumers Through Proper Procedures Act,'" said Grivner. "The
bill would end an incumbents' ability to win deregulation by default, a
very real threat when and if the Commission fails to decide on a petition
before the legal deadline passes. But correcting merely one aspect of
forbearance is not sufficient. The entire concept of forbearance as it has
become unduly misused by the ILECs is deeply flawed. Congress should press
for strict procedural rules and substantive requirements that bring
certainty and consistency to forbearance. We need to fix forbearance once
and for all."
The current lack of procedural rules governing the forbearance process
means that:
-- Incumbent monopolies can file petitions to initiate regulatory
proceedings that push their own agenda and set a fixed timetable for a
regulatory decision without similar deadlines on data filings;
-- Petitioners can and do file late or incomplete data;
-- Regardless of the weakness of data supporting a forbearance bid,
petitioners may file and re-file, consuming enormous resources of the FCC
and competitors.
Recent petitions by Verizon and Qwest seek to eviscerate the very
competitive foundations of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and show the
ability of incumbents to waste regulators' and competitors' resources,
according to Grivner.
"The FCC closely studied the market evidence, found it lacking on all
counts, and unanimously rejected Verizon," said Grivner. "Only weeks
later, Verizon re-filed forbearance petitions in some of the same markets,
and is using the same data already rejected by the Commission."
"Qwest's petitions are in many respects similar to Verizon's and should
also be rejected," said Grivner. "As importantly for the long term, we
need rules that list substantive requirements for forbearance petitions and
end this unconscionable waste of regulators' and competitors' time."
About XO Communications
XO, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc. (
OTCBB:
XOHO), is a leading provider
of 21st century communications services for businesses and communications
services providers, including Fortune 500 businesses, leading cable
companies, carriers, content providers, and mobile operators. Utilizing its
unique and powerful nationwide IP network and extensive local metro
networks and broadband wireless facilities, XO offers customers a broad
range of managed voice, data and IP services in 75 metropolitan markets
across the United States. For more information, visit
www.xo.com.
Contact Information: Contact:
Jim Crawford
Crawford Public Relations
T: 703-753-4480
M: 703-498-7315