Local phone competition ruling could raise rates
544145
A divided Federal Communications Commission passed rules Wednesday restricting local phone competition. The move is expected to raise prices for many consumers across the country and for small businesses in larger cities.
657604
State regulators unanimously voted Tuesday to allow SBC Communications Inc. to charge competitors more to use its network, but it was unclear when, or if, that increase would be felt
644008
Millions of customers may face higher phone bills as a result of an FCC vote Wednesday to phase out discounts that major regional phone companies must give rivals that rent space on the big companies' lines. -The Washington Post
42439
As competition heats up, we may enjoy better rates and service.
575346
Appeals court breathes new life into challenge of city law requiring homes, offices connect to municipal network.
72054
By JOHN DUNBAR  WASHINGTON - Cable television rates keep going up while prices for other communications services are going down, says the nation's chief communications regulator, and he blames local governments for blocking competition.
526800
Rachel Parnes, who lives near Albany, N.Y., calls her mother in Natick almost daily, instead of weekly, because the price is so cheap. Kevin Clougherty of Chelmsford has friends in England on his speed-dial list. And Raj Sathyaraj of Hudson estimates he's saving $150 a month on calls to India and Australia since moving from AT&amp;T to Vonage Internet phone ...
719493
Federal regulators narrowly approved rules Wednesday that phase out many of the government-mandated discounts the four major regional telephone companies must give rivals to encourage them to compete for local service customers.
160735
AT&T will raise rates for most of its major broadband plans in its 13-state legacy region starting in March, the company said this week.
765558
By Christian Hill, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.  Feb. 14--Qwest pushed for a bill Tuesday that it says would hold down soaring cable TV rates in Washington by creating competition.
2951
In what amounts to a big win for Vonage Holdings Corp., the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ruled that the broadband phone company&#39;s service was exempt from state and local regulation and tariffs.
739447
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday  gave the Federal Communications Commission time to come up with  new final rules for big local U.S. telephone carriers sharing  their networks with rivals after temporarily freezing wholesale  rates.
161782
update A price war is brewing in the world of Internet telephone services, as providers try to win over consumers who now have a host of options when it comes to making calls.
195143
The state of California is mounting a legal challenge to a recent Federal Communications Commission ruling that VOIP phone services sold by Vonage Holdings Corp.
510376
(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that incumbent local exchange carriers must connect to VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, overruling two state public service commission opinions. The FCC on Thursday granted a petition from Time Warner Cable Inc., which had complained that the South Carolina and Nebraska public service commissions had allowed rural local exchange carriers to refuse access to wholesale telecom vendors connecting to Time Warner's VoIP service. The rural carriers had argued that FCC rules don't require them to connect to the wholesale vendors because they don't provide direct voice service to residents. But the FCC said that argument was a misinterpretation of its rules. The FCC "must promote competition in every sector it oversees and create a level playing field among service providers," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, in a statement. The FCC decision "ensures that consumers in all areas of the country reap the benefits of competition in the form of lower prices, innovative services and more choice," he added. Time Warner Cable, which was using wholesale transport services from MCI, now part of Verizon Communications Inc., and Sprint Nextel Corp., filed a petition with the FCC last March. The two state commissions had ruled that the services provided by MCI and Sprint did not quality as telecommunications services, and therefore, rural incumbent local exchange carriers were not required to interconnect with them. But four other states required local carriers to connect with the wholesale vendors, Time Warner argued. The FCC, in its decision, said interconnection requirements should apply to both retail and wholesale telecom services. "A contrary decision would impede the important development of wholesale telecommunications and facilities-based VoIP competition," the FCC said in its order.
190302
Denver-based Qwest Communications and Verizon Communications of New York are going to court over a freeze placed on rates that the companies can charge competitors.
751922
Prepaid wireless companies say they may have to sharply raise the prices of their discount cellphones after a federal ruling that hobbles their ability to crack down on a rampant foreign black market in the devices.