New Jersey Makes Slight Increase to UNE-p Rates

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) ordered a slight increase in the monthly rates Verizon charges for "Unbundled Network Elements. The action follows a pricing review that took into consideration guidance from the FCC on cost of capital and depreciation -- two factors used to help determine these wholesale rates. The current UNE platform or UNE-P rate in New Jersey, $12.61, is the lowest of the 30 states served by Verizon. The board's new platform rate is $14.43.


New Jersey's BPU noted that the UNE-platform has been the most widely used method by CLECs in the local exchange market. CLECs currently serve approximately 1,000,000 of New Jersey's 6.3 million phone customers.


Verizon Communications said the new rate "still affords a huge margin from the $45 to $50 price competitors typically charge for their most widely advertised flat-rate calling plans. The company also said the action "fails to seriously address the issue of below- cost wholesale rates that threaten Verizon's ability to invest in New Jersey. These below-cost rates also threaten to kill off the jobs that could be created at Verizon and at other New Jersey companies."


AT&T said its was "there was no legal or factual basis for any increase in rates that were set less than eighteen months ago. Consumers were just beginning to reap the benefits of the competitive landscape that the Board recently helped establish. As in any rational business, AT&T expects that it will have no choice but to pass this wholesale cost increase onto its customers."http://www.bpu.state.nj.us/home/news.shtml?20-04