The Texas Public Utilities Commission failed to act on a dispute between AT&T and UTex Communications, UTex said in a reply comment supporting preemption by the FCC. The company rejected arguments by AT&T and the Texas commission that the state regulators holding off on acting until the FCC issues an order clarifying whether access charges apply to VoIP traffic terminating on the public switched telephone network. The Telecom Act "creates a binary trigger for preemption: the state commission can only 'act' or 'fail to act,'" UTex said. "There is no alternative middle ground that allows it to issue a standstill order that results in a failure to render a decision on an open issue." It's not fair to "let UTEX burn while the industry and regulators fiddle with intercarrier compensation 'reform' and ultimately devise new, prospective rules," it added. "The fact that these proceedings have continued for so long, and the fact that it appears they will not conclude any time soon, strongly counsels in favor of preemption, not against it."
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