On June 22, 2009 a group of mostly regional telecom carriers formed a new coalition called NoChokePoints. They are on a mission to get the FCC to reform the fee structure for special access to the large bandwidth pipes mostly owned by incumbent carriers as AT&T and Verizon.
According to NoChokePoints, companies like AT&T and Verizon have misused their powerful presense in large markets by “demanding outrages prices, because they can”.
Maura Corbett, spokeswoman for the NoChokePoints coallition said “Releasing the broadband economy from the chokehold these huge phone companies have on the special access market will be a catalyst for innovation and investment in the broadband marketplace, something we desperately need.”
“The Obama administration, Congress, and the FCC repeatedly emphasize the importance of broadband to our economic recovery and, frankly, it defies explanation that we are still fighting this market abuse,” Corbett continued. “Huge companies like Verizon and AT&T control the broadband lines of almost every business in the United States. The virtually unchallenged, exclusive control of these lines costs businesses and consumers more than $10 billion annually and generates a profit margin of more than 100 percent for the controlling phone companies, according to their own data provided to the FCC. This hidden broadband tax results in enormous losses for consumers and the economy, and this country cannot afford it; especially now.” [click to read the rest…]
{ 0 comments }
