Special-access pricing review set for September

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said the agency will consider revising special-access pricing rules by early September, a development that could lead to lower costs for mobile phone carriers and others.
Sprint Nextel Corp. has been the most vocal of the four national carriers in advocating changes to the pricing structure for dedicated lines largely controlled AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. Sprint Nextel CTO Barry West told the House telecom subcommittee in April the No. 3 cellular carrier could speed up deployment of its WiMAX mobile broadband network if it did not have to pay such high fees for special access.
In a report last November, the Government Accountability Office said competition in the special-access market is limited.
While Martin and the other four FCC members told House telecom subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) they have agreed to seek further public comment on special access pricing, the FCC chairman indicated he is not inclined to change the status quo. “At this time, I do not see a need to revise the special-access pricing rules,” Martin stated.
“We believe this is tentative good news for independent wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA Inc., Alltel Corp., competitive local exchange carriers and others that use special-access services,” said Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. in an analyst note. The special access market is estimated at $15 billion annually.