COMPTEL Challenges Verizon Forbearance Petition in DC Circuit
WASHINGTON, DC --March 29, 2006 -- On March 19, 2006, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin unilaterally granted Verizon sweeping relief from federal and state regulation of Verizon's high-capacity data services by failing to act on its petition for forbearance. COMPTEL today filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging that FCC action.
The following statement may be attributed to Earl Comstock, COMPTEL's President and CEO:
"When the chairman of a federal agency is able to abdicate his responsibility to protect the public interest, and instead chooses to advance the private financial interests of a single giant corporation, it is time for the courts to step in and protect the public. The FCC's default grant of forbearance makes Verizon the only telecommunications company in the entire country that is not subject to regulatory oversight. COMPTEL believes that the statutory provision that allowed this situation to occur is an unconstitutional delegation by the Congress to an unelected federal official."
