FCC to decide whether “toll free” means free

The FCC is considering changes to the decades-old toll-free calling system that will hurt consumers, and Windstream is pushing back.

For years, AT&T has told the FCC that widespread abuse of the toll-free calling system requires a remedy, even though there is little to no evidence justifying radical reform. So now, the FCC is proposing that you – the consumer – should pay the freight. Windstream thinks that’s bad policy and, along with Frontier and NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, we filed written objections with the FCC today. read more

FCC takes excellent first step to simplify broadband deployment

I want to thank Chairman Ajit Pai and the FCC for the innovative steps they took today to reduce the time and cost of deploying broadband infrastructure.

The FCC’s new “One-Touch Make Ready” (OTMR) policy will make the often-cumbersome process of attaching cables to existing utility poles much more efficient. I know that sounds like the most in-the-weeds telecom topic imaginable, but this policy change will help encourage the deployment of broadband, and that’s a subject about which our customers care a great deal. read more

Windstream, USTelecom reach balanced agreement on wholesale access

I am pleased to announce that Windstream and the USTelecom Association, which represents the nation’s largest telecoms, have reached an agreement on wholesale network access that balances the needs of customers, incumbent providers and competitors. read more

Let’s make honey, not vinegar

The big telcos’ push to bail out on wholesale obligations that have helped fuel innovation in communications services since 1996 will cause tremendous pain for customers if the FCC agrees to it.

Two sources of that pain – higher prices and less competition – are obvious. Today, I want to take a deeper look at some of the less obvious causes. read more

Big Telco Proposes Hitting Your Bottom Line to Improve Theirs

The telecom industry has gotten riled up recently. If you have been paying attention to the news, you know that the biggest telcos are asking the FCC to make a policy change that would have huge impacts on both residential and business customers. At the end of the day, Windstream Enterprise stands for our current customers and those of you who will become our customers in the future. Our loyalties lie with you, not the big telcos. read more

FCC slows down big telco plan to reduce competition, raise prices

The FCC on Friday agreed to extend the comment deadlines on the big telcos’ proposal to trash rules requiring them to grant wholesale access to their networks at reasonable prices.

This is very good news because, make no mistake about it, if the big telco proposal is approved, businesses and consumers will have fewer options for telecommunications service and they will pay more for it. (An immediate 15 percent increase is included in the proposal, if you can believe it.) The FCC extended the deadline for initial comments to Aug. 6 and the deadline for reply comments to Sept. 5. In doing so, it acknowledged that the initial proposal by USTelecom, which is acting on behalf of the big telcos, was incomplete. (I would have called it ridiculously inadequate, but that’s just me.) read more

Mermaids, Unicorns and Other Fairy Tales Told by Big Telcos

Embedded in the big telco proposal to increase prices using their monopolies is an economic study that purports to show all the good their UNE forbearance plan will do for the economy. Do not let the study’s title, “Assessing the Impact of Forbearance from 251(c)(3) on Consumers, Capital Investment and Jobs,” fool you – this is at its heart a work of fiction. Or maybe it’s a fairy tale. It’s definitely not an impartial study. (And, yes, I too often wonder who names these economic studies.) read more

Biggest telecoms seek to derail competition, raise prices

The nation’s largest telecom companies have asked the FCC to stifle their competitors, a move that will enrich them at the expense of consumers and small businesses.

Windstream strongly opposes this request by USTelecom, the trade group representing local telephone companies, otherwise known as incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). Our position may seem strange at first glance because Windstream is a member of USTelecom and an ILEC that serves primarily rural communities in 18 states. But we are also a competitive provider serving businesses in markets across the country where we are not the local phone company. read more

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