Sprint, CLECs Take Aim at Telco Special Access Pricing Practices Under FCC Investigation

Sprint and CLECs said telco special access pricing practices lock up competition and should be effectively undone by the FCC, which is investigating the matter. The criticism came in oppositions and other comments posted Monday in docket 15-247 in response to the cases made by AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications and Verizon in defending their practices, which often contain discounts in exchange for volume or term commitments (see 1601110066). "Because incumbent LEC loyalty schemes are designed to restrict competition, and the incumbents have failed to offer any reasonable alternative explanation for their anticompetitive behavior, the Commission should immediately conclude that the practices at issue in this investigation are unjust and unreasonable," Sprint said. "Based on this finding, the Commission should declare that incumbent LECs cannot enforce their punitive penalties against purchasers who terminate loyalty plans or whose TDM purchases fall below their commitment levels. At minimum, the Commission should give purchasers a 'fresh look' until the Commission can implement comprehensive special access reform.”