New Mexico Supreme Court denies CenturyLink’s attempt to abandon landline customers

In a ruling, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission’s (NMPRC) denial of CenturyLink’s petition to declare effective competition for its retail residential basic local exchange service. The New Mexico Supreme Court found that NMPRC's determination that CenturyLink failed to provide evidence establishing a presumption of effective competition is reasonable, lawful, and supported by substantial evidence. CWA District 7, Bernalillo County, and the City of Albuquerque had opposed CenturyLink’s attempt at deregulation. 

In a related decision in 2021, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled against CenturyLink and reaffirmed the NMPRC’s authority to establish strong service quality and consumer protection standards for CenturyLink. 

Links:

Qwest Corporation, d/b/a, CenturyLink QC v. New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Decision NO. S-1-SC-38225 (New Mexico Supreme Court, May 2, 2022)

Qwest Corp. v. N.M. Pub. Regulation Comm'n No. S-1-SC-38028 (New Mexico Supreme Court, Jan. 28, 2021)

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission rejects CenturyLink’s attempt to shirk responsibility to provide service (Speed Matters, Mar. 9, 2020) 

CWA urges the New Mexico Supreme Court to uphold state oversight of CenturyLink (Speed Matters, Oct. 13, 2020)