It’s ‘improper’ to try to ‘co-opt the merger process’ by seeking ...

It’s “improper” to try to “co-opt the merger process” by seeking interconnection and intercarrier compensation conditions addressed in pending rulemakings, AT&T told the FCC in response to a request by cable companies (CD Oct 2 p11). Cable companies are trying to “saddle AT&T with obligations that are wholly unrelated to any impact of its merger with BellSouth,” AT&T said in an Oct. 3 letter: “The nation’s cable companies will do just fine waiting with the rest of the industry for the Commission’s orderly resolution of its pending intercarrier compensation and IP-enabled services proceedings with rules of general applicability.” Those proceedings “are addressing all of the industry-wide interconnection and compensation issues raised by their filing,” AT&T said. The cable companies’ concerns about “how, where and on what terms companies should interconnect and exchange… traffic are the central issues under review in these rulemaking proceedings.”