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Leading Competitors Urge FCC to Dismiss Verizon's Petition for Regulatory Forbearance in Virginia Beach
Competitors Charge Verizon Using Same Data Reviewed and Rejected in Commission's Unanimous December 2007 Decision Denying Forbearance Rate Hikes
| Source: XO Communications
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - April 29, 2008) - A group of over 30 competitive
telecommunications service providers today urged the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to dismiss or deny a new Verizon petition that seeks
avoidance of pro-competitive pricing rules within the Virginia Beach
metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
Verizon seeks regulatory forbearance from competitive wholesale pricing
rules of the 1996 Telecommunications Act within those portions of Virginia
Beach where Cox Communications is the leading cable provider. The
competitive providers noted that Verizon's latest petition relies on the
same supporting data used by the former Baby Bell in its prior bid for
deregulation in the Virginia Beach MSA and for five other Eastern markets
in 2007. The FCC unanimously denied all six petitions in December 2007.
Heather B. Gold, senior vice president of external affairs at XO
Communications, said: "The Commission should not be taken in by this
attempt to dress up the same facts to gain another chance at forbearance,
and should immediately dismiss Verizon's petition. The ink is barely dry on
the FCC's rejection of Verizon's last forbearance petition, yet here comes
Verizon submitting a nearly identical bid for one of the markets for which
forbearance was denied."
Francie McComb, senior vice president - law and public policy at Cavalier
Telephone, said: "Verizon's so-called 'new' forbearance petition for
Virginia Beach is a rehashing of the same petition already unanimously
rejected by the Commission less than five months ago. We believe that
Verizon should not take up valuable FCC resources in this manner."