The Office of the Solicitor General has informed the FCC that it has decided not to appeal the D.C. Circuit decision vacating the Commission's local telephone unbundling rules.
Some industry reaction:
- USTA: ""This is bold leadership from the Administration on American jobs, investment and economic growth. The Administration had a clear choice: Continue down a path of extreme government intervention in a competitive marketplace or embrace the free-market principles that make our economy strong. It chose the forward-looking path...As the strategy of 'delay-through-litigation' winds down, we are hopeful that all sides will focus more intently and constructively on a smooth transition to a commercial marketplace." USTA President and CEO Walter B. McCormick, Jr.
- CompTel/ASCENT: "Absent a Supreme Court stay and review of the D.C. Circuit decision, consumers and small businesses will see their phone bills rise and the nation's economy will suffer while a select few giant corporations reap all the windfalls." H. Russell Frisby Jr., CompTel/ASCENT CEO.
- AT&T: "In one stroke, and under intense lobbying pressure from entrenched monopolies, the Bush Administration has reversed its legal position in this case, and reversed the legal and policy position it has maintained since it took office... Failure to appeal this case could do lasting damage to the entire competitive telecom industry - and will lead inevitably to higher prices and fewer choices for Americans." Jim Cicconi, AT&T General Counsel
- Verizon: "We applaud the Bush Administration for making a tough call today, but one that will bring the benefits to consumers of stepped-up investment in advanced telecommunications networks by competing providers. When faced with a choice between reliance on market forces and government mandates, the administration has placed its faith in market forces." Tom Tauke, executive vice president - public affairs and communications for Verizon.
- SBC: "Allowing these unlawful rules to lapse will ensure a bright new era of stability in the highly competitive telecommunications industry that will benefit American consumers. SBC's wholesale services will continue as before without disruption." James D. Ellis, general counsel of SBC Communications.
- Voices for Choices: "One result of today's decision is already clear. Higher phone prices are going to hit like a rock. The Appeals Court ripped away one of the most important consumer protections in federal telecom law. The only reason calling prices dropped in recent years is because competition emerged to the Bell monopolies. Peter Arnold, Voices for Choices spokesman.
- MCI: " If the FCC's rules are allowed to lapse and wholesale rates rise MCI may be forced to raise prices in some markets and pull out of others." Stasia Kelly, MCI Executive Vice President and General Counsel.
- Sprint: "This is bad news for consumers, who will soon see some phone service prices go up. It is also bad news for the telecommunications industry, which will face continued investment uncertainty and an immediate splash of cold water on the local phone competition that was spurred by the Federal Communications Commission's UNE rules."
- The Solicitor General, Theodore B. Olson, determines the cases in which Supreme Court review will be sought by the government and the positions the government will take before the Court. He was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001.
- In March 2004, a three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the FCC's Triennial Review Order with regard to network unbundling rules. The FCC rules, which were announced in February 2003 but actually issued in August 2003, empowered state public utility commissions as the decision makers on issues regarding UNE-P unbundling and local competition. The Court of Appeals said the FCC erred by not providing unified, federal guidelines and by pushing many FCC decisions to the states. The court also upheld the Triennial Review Order's exemption provided to incumbent carriers from unbundling for certain fiber-fed loops and for line sharing.
