Comcast, Cox Push Back Againt Possible FCC Regulation of BDS New Entrants

Cable companies lobbied the FCC against regulating business data service rates offered by new entrants. Comcast officials believe "the marketplace is increasingly competitive, and that the strong evidence of continuing investment by new entrants, expanding output, and declining prices militates heavily against the imposition of wide-scale rate regulation," said a filing posted Thursday in docket 16-143 summarizing meetings with FCC commissioner aides, General Counsel Howard Symons, Wireline Bureau Chief Matt DelNero and other staffers. "In light of the Commission’s goal of promoting facilities-based competitive entry, it would be especially counterproductive to subject new entrants in the BDS marketplace to rate regulation. We noted that even parties like Level 3 and Public Knowledge -- both of which favor a significant expansion of rate regulation for incumbents -- recognize that such measures should apply only to providers with market power, and that Verizon and INCOMPAS recently appear to have acknowledged that competitive providers should be exempt (at least for some period of time) from rate regulation." Cox Communications also urged FCC officials not to impose rate regulation on new entrants. AT&T, CenturyLink and Windstream made additional filings in the docket on recent lobbying visits.