Granting USTelecom Forbearance Would Increase Competition, McCormick Says

Granting USTelecom’s petition to forbear from several regulatory requirements on LECs would be a “concrete action” the FCC could take “in the immediate future to increase competition where Chairman [Tom] Wheeler has said it is most needed -- in fiber-based broadband,” said the group’s president Walter McCormick in a statement Thursday. “The petition calls for removing long outdated rules, such as those requiring companies to separate local and long-distance business, that prevent carriers from investing in the kind of advanced communications services that consumers want today. ... We believe action on this petition will lead to greater broadband opportunities for American consumers.” Comments on the petition are due Dec. 5, replies Dec. 22 in docket 14-192 (see 1411050047).