USTelecom Statement on High-Capacity Services
Background: Today, those seeking additional regulation of the competitive broadband marketplace announced a new group to pursue their agenda of having the government impose price controls that would generate a substantial windfall to their businesses at the expense of investment in infrastructure and broadband deployment.
The following statement is from Walter B. McCormick Jr., President and CEO of USTelecom:
“These are the same old tired and discredited arguments we’ve heard for years, simply wrapped up in a new package.
“The facts remain unchanged. These companies have refused to provide the data to substantiate their claims. That’s not only our view, the fact is that GAO, the FCC, NARUC and virtually every other policymaker who’s been hit up by this call for special treatment has been unsuccessful in obtaining competitive data from many of these companies.
“Most of this market remains under price controls. Those regulations have only been lifted where the FCC has determined there is adequate competition. For example, Verizon has, on average, nine fiber competitors in each of its top 25 markets. Additionally, prices in the high-capacity services market have come down substantially from 2001. AT&T has shown that the prices its customers pay fell by more than 20% from 2004 through the first quarter of 2007 in real inflation-adjusted terms. Finally, at the same time these companies are asking for this windfall they are also issuing press releases touting their contracts and new offerings in high-capacity services.
“Between the mounting public evidence that competition is rising, and the telling, deafening silence from the other side when policymakers ask for information on their competitive offerings, it’s quite clear that the allegations are frivolous.
“We have today a balanced, pro-competition policy – one that was established under a Democratic FCC Chairman and a Democratic President. We also have an important, unifying national objective of promoting universal broadband deployment, which is bringing everyone together and will make a very meaningful difference in people’s lives. We need to keep our eyes on the prize and continue to focus on constructive ways to encourage robust, ubiquitous investment in broadband. It is our hope that the new FCC will not be intimidated into ill-considered action in the absence of basic facts."
The United States Telecom Association, USTelecom, is the premier broadband trade association representing service providers
and suppliers for the telecom industry. USTelecom represents companies offering a wide range of services across the communications
platforms, including voice, video and data over local exchange, long distance, wireless, Internet and cable services.