The United States Telecom Association (“U.S. Telecom”) recently filed a petition with the FCC requesting forbearance of enforcement of multiple “legacy telecommunications regulations.” Based on the industry’s transition from a traditional switched telephone network to an IP-based network, U.S. Telecom asserts that these regulations are no longer necessary. Specifically, U.S. Telecom seeks forbearance of following existing regulations on behalf of the applicable ILECs subject to these rules:
The FCC has issued a public notice requesting comments on the petition. Comments on U.S. Telecom’s petition are due by April 9, 2012, and reply comments are due April 24, 2012.
This petition could serve as an opportunity to assist the FCC (“Commission) in determining which of the above requirements remain essential to ensuring a fair and competitive telecommunications marketplace and which requirements provide only administrative burdens without benefiting the policy objectives of the Commission.
This article was originally published by Bingham McCutchen LLP.