https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


Regulatory News – Appeals Court Frees IXCs from Tariffs

  • Written by Channel
  • June 30, 2000

Posted:  07/2000

Regulatory News

Appeals Court Frees IXCs from Tariffs
By Kim Sunderland

All is not lost for the IXCs that lost a three-year battle with the FCC
(www.fcc.gov) in federal appeals court over the requirement that they file federal tariffs outlining their rates or service changes.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
(www.cadc.uscourts.gov) upheld the FCC’s 1996 decision, which WorldCom Inc.
(www.wcom.com) and other IXCs challenged, calling the ruling unreasonable. They also said the commission exceeded its authority.

The court rejected the claims and ruled the FCC’s order prohibiting them from filing tariffs with the commission stands.

“As we read the commission’s decision, the essence of its reasoning was a desire to put the interexchange carriers under the same market conditions as apply to any other nonregulated provider of services in our economy,” according to the appeals court decision. “The commission concluded that ‘a regime without nondominant interexchange carrier tariffs for interstate, domestic, interexchange service is the most pro-competitive, deregulatory system.’ We think … the commission was entitled to value the free market, the benefits of which are rather well established.”

The IXCs believe that detariffing forces them to ink other contracts with customers each time they change their rates or services. This, in turn, will make it more difficult for them to offer new discount plans or promotions, because they’ll have to spend more money on informing individual consumers of each subsequent change.

According to the IXCs, the necessity of mailing new contracts to customers would increase their transaction costs resulting in higher prices for consumers, make casual-calling options more difficult, and hinder their ability to respond quickly to competitors’ price changes, according to the court’s ruling.

All of this came true with the appeals court’s ruling. Under the court’s order, long-distance providers now must enter into these separate customer contracts upon changes in pricing or service, explains Dena
Alo-Colbeck, director of public policy for regulatory consultants Miller Isar Inc.
(www.millerisar.com).

“By instituting mandatory detariffing, the order may cause a substantial increase in service provider operations costs, especially those of smaller providers, who may no longer rely upon federal tariff filings to inform customers of pricing policies,” she says.

The IXCs say the tariffs would allow them a sort of one-shot deal: They could work out individual contracts with large users but file tariffs in other cases where a change might affect millions of mass-market consumers. While detariffing is “unfortunate,” a WorldCom spokeswoman says the company would work with the FCC to make the transition smooth for consumers.

FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, on the other hand, calls consumers winners because the IXCs have to better inform them of any changes.

“What long-distance companies ought to be doing is aggressively advertising their prices on the Internet and in the media,” Kennard said in a statement. “Federal
tariff filings can no longer be used as a tool to keep prices higher than what a competitive marketplace would require.”

The FCC says the tariff system was hindering full competition because companies learn what their competitors are charging through the publicly available tariffs. The appeals court agreed the FCC has the authority to abolish the federal tariff requirement.

“It was certainly reasonable to move regulation in that direction even if it ostensibly raises transaction costs for the carriers,” the three-judge panel ruled unanimously.

“The commission … wishes to disentangle the interexchange carriers’ prices from the filed-rate doctrine,” according to the court order. “The commission has long been concerned that the necessity of filing tariffs hinders competitive responsiveness.

“And, according to consumer representatives’ comments presented to the FCC, the filed-rate doctrine has been used by the carriers as a shield to avoid individual contract negotiations with large and small users,
thereby reducing competition among carriers,” the court ruling states.

Getting Over It

IXCs now must determine how the commission’s order will change their business practices. Since the original 1996 order, they have continued to file tariff information with the FCC.

According to telecom attorney Mitchell F.
Brecher, partner in the Washington offices of Greenberg Traurig (www.gtlaw.com), carriers need to consider several points.

First, all carriers subject to mandatory detariffing must turn their attention to establishing contractual relationships with their customers, Brecher says.

Second, “while the FCC decision affirmed by the court was limited to the 1996 decision requiring the detariffing of domestic interstate interexchange services, look for the FCC to use its forbearance authority to detariff other competitive services such as access services of CLECs and international services,” he explains.

Finally, carriers should determine how domestic detariffing affects the in-region interstate long-distance services of BOCs who have not been classified as nondominant for in-region long distance, Brecher says.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, he concludes.

Tags: Agents Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Related


  • CwCJ Logo 2020
    Coffee with Craig and James Episode No. 92: Fusion Connect, Master Agent M&A
    We get the inside scoop from Fusion Connect channel chief Rick Ribas and talk mergers with an industry expert.
  • Businesswoman with help sign
    SMBs Need Channel Partners to Help with Long-Term Remote Working
    Research shows UK SMBs need help from partners with their technology investments.
  • Survey says
    Cloud Communications Market Rocked by Microsoft, COVID-19 in 2020
    The perceived competitiveness of Slack and Google slid year over year.
  • Fuel Pump
    Vonage, Oracle, Salesforce Vets to Fuel Talkdesk Partners' Growth
    In the first two months of 2021, reseller partners have extended Talkdesk's global reach.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Telarus Vet Ends Short 'Retirement,' Will Lead PPT Solutions' Channel Sales Strategy
  • TBI Adds Rival Intelisys Alum, Tech Data, 8x8 Vets
  • 8x8 Joins Microsoft as Westcon Partner to Spur International Growth
  • Granite Unleashes Microsoft Teams Integration, Merged Voice Services

Galleries

View all

Biden Administration Issues Russian Sanctions in Response to SolarWinds Hack, Election Interference

April 16, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

SD-WAN Supports More Purposeful Shift to Cloud

April 16, 2021

How Tech Is Transforming Public Safety–and the Implications for Channel Partners

April 15, 2021

Exercising Your Organization’s Data Loss Recovery Abilities

April 13, 2021

Webinars

View all

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

How MSPs Can Leverage SOCaaS to Improve Security & Grow Revenue

May 4, 2021

White Papers

View all

Carbonite Data Protection and Cyber Resilience

April 15, 2021

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

5 Reasons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Is Important

Five9 Shares Insights on Implementing a DE&I Strategy

April 13, 2021

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

March 31, 2021

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

If you needed any more reason to submit your @MSP_501 application, this promotional video will get you fired up!… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@FrontierCorp just weeks away from exiting #Chapter11bankruptcy. dlvr.it/RxqkK1 https://t.co/yxyChKL9Um

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

#SDWAN supports a more purposeful shift to the #cloud @ComcastBusiness #networksecurity #hybridwork #security #SaaS… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @alysfitz: 67% of respondents reported burning out since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We need to do better to support #WomenInTech, especi…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @AllianceofCW: #ACW members Mayka Rosales-Peterson and Raquel Wiley were elected to @ChannelFutures' #Diversity, #Equity, & #Inclusion B…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@ZiplyFiber rolls out agent #partnerprogram. #networking dlvr.it/RxmM4K

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

New #Microsoft #SurfaceLaptop4 is an incremental update with an improved CPUs webcam, speakers and dual mics.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 16, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@okta hires @InsightEnt vet as global channel chief. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxmM20 https://t.co/ImWRZp2qHt

April 16, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X