Da-Chief
07-17-2008, 10:22
http://i.dslr.net/urls/91/4091.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Qwest-Things-Are-Just-So-Darn-Competitive-We-Must-Raise-Prices-96183)
Most of the major incumbent operators are pushing the FCC for "forbearance" from remaining rules that require they lease access to their lines to competitors at reasonable rates. Most line sharing regulation was gutted by the FCC's deregulation of the DSL industry back in '05, but some agreements remain grandfathered.
Qwest lawyers have been very busy the last few years arguing (to the FCC and anyone else who'll listen) that the American phone and broadband industry is just so darn competitive, there's really not much need for price controls for residential, business and wholesale services, or these grandfathered agreements. The Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel this week disagrees (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/16/qwest-deregulation-plea-draws-fire/), pointing out that in truly competitive markets, competitive pressures really don't allow you the luxury of the kind of price hikes Qwest has been implementing. Qwest defends the push:Steve Davis, Qwest's senior vice president of public policy, said, "Prices in communications services over the last 10 years have been either down or flat." Davis added that even in a competitive market, "sometimes prices do increase" as a result of inflation, a company's revenue picture, and the overall cost of doing business.
On July 1, Qwest raised the rates of 44 different services and products (including caller ID and call forwarding) by between 7 and 28 percent. This week, the telco announced they'll increase price caps for several business products and services effective Aug. 15. Earlier this year, Qwest hiked broadband service prices by as much as 11 percent, and tried (but failed) to pass legislation allowing them to hike basic phone rates by as much as 32 percent. Isn't competition great?
read comment(s) (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Qwest-Things-Are-Just-So-Darn-Competitive-We-Must-Raise-Prices-96183)
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Most of the major incumbent operators are pushing the FCC for "forbearance" from remaining rules that require they lease access to their lines to competitors at reasonable rates. Most line sharing regulation was gutted by the FCC's deregulation of the DSL industry back in '05, but some agreements remain grandfathered.
Qwest lawyers have been very busy the last few years arguing (to the FCC and anyone else who'll listen) that the American phone and broadband industry is just so darn competitive, there's really not much need for price controls for residential, business and wholesale services, or these grandfathered agreements. The Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel this week disagrees (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/16/qwest-deregulation-plea-draws-fire/), pointing out that in truly competitive markets, competitive pressures really don't allow you the luxury of the kind of price hikes Qwest has been implementing. Qwest defends the push:Steve Davis, Qwest's senior vice president of public policy, said, "Prices in communications services over the last 10 years have been either down or flat." Davis added that even in a competitive market, "sometimes prices do increase" as a result of inflation, a company's revenue picture, and the overall cost of doing business.
On July 1, Qwest raised the rates of 44 different services and products (including caller ID and call forwarding) by between 7 and 28 percent. This week, the telco announced they'll increase price caps for several business products and services effective Aug. 15. Earlier this year, Qwest hiked broadband service prices by as much as 11 percent, and tried (but failed) to pass legislation allowing them to hike basic phone rates by as much as 32 percent. Isn't competition great?
read comment(s) (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Qwest-Things-Are-Just-So-Darn-Competitive-We-Must-Raise-Prices-96183)
More...