Court Won’t Change FCC Order on Special Access Pricing

A federal appeals court says it won’t change the FCC forbearance decisions that gave AT&T Inc. (T), CenturyTel/Embarq and Frontier Communications (FTR) special access pricing relief.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), CLECs including tw telecom inc. (TWTC), and enterprise customers had asked the court to overturn the FCC’s ruling. But judges said the FCC’s order concerning enterprise broadband regulations passed muster.

Unless Congress or the new FCC acts to the contrary, the providers in question will be able to “demand more favorable terms and conditions from wireless and CLEC competitors and corporate customers using their business services on a wholesale and retail basis,” Stifel Nicolaus analysts wrote on July 17, the day the appeals court acted.