FCC drops harmful business data services proposal

The FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler pulled his proposal to slash business data services rates, a plan that could have cut the rate providers charge wireless companies and other businesses for dedicated data services by 20 percent or more. Unable to get majority support for the drastic rate cuts,  FCC Chairman Wheeler pulled the item off the FCC November meeting agenda.

This is good news, as the proposal effectively required unionized incumbent carriers to subsidize the input costs of low-wage, non-union competitive providers and wireless carriers, leading to the loss of quality jobs and decreased broadband investment.

“A drastic cut in business data service rates will create disincentives for job-creating investment in high-speed data networks,” read a letter from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Chris Shelton. “This is particularly true in rural America, which is characterized by higher-cost, lower-density places with fewer business customers.”

Last month CWA delivered over 7,000 signed petitions to the FCC letting the Commission know that they opposed the FCC’s proposal that would “make it more difficult for companies to make investments in the infrastructure rural areas need to build strong economies.”

Link:

U.S. FCC drops planned reform of business data services market (Reuters, Nov. 17, 2016)

CWA to FCC: drastic cuts in business data rates will harm investment, good telecom jobs (Speed Matters, Sept. 23, 2016)

CWA follow-up letter to Chairman Wheeler on BDS (CWA, Sept. 16, 2016)

CWA delivers 7,100 petitions to the FCC on Business Data Services proposal (Speed Matters, Oct. 20, 2016)