FCC'S HANDLING OF FORBEARANCE PETITION RAISES OPENNESS QUESTIONS

摘要

The FCC circulated an order dismissing a forbearance request by OrbitCom before it made the carrier's petition public, nearly a year after the company filed the request. The commission never posted a public notice seeking comment. The 12-month statutory forbearance deadline is Aug. 27. The situation raises red flags about FCC openness and the forbearance process, industry officials said in interviews. OrbitCom, a competitive local exchange carrier in Sioux Falls, S.D., filed Aug. 27, 2007, for forbearance from enforcement of sections 61.26(b) and 61.26(c). It sought to tariff rates for interstate switched access that mirror its intrastate tariff rates. nnThe petition didn't appear until Tuesday on the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System. Chairman Kevin Martin circulated Aug. 6 a draft order to deny forbearance, an FCC spokesman said. "Because the petition was so deficient on its face, the commission did not seek comment on this forbearance petition," the spokesman said. "Disturbing" events surrounding the OrbitCom petition raise questions about how the commission runs, said Mary Albert, CompTel's general counsel. The FCC shouldn't be ruling "in the dark," she said. The commission should put "everything" up for public notice, though it isn't required to, said Gregory Kennan, One Communications federal counsel. The FCC at least should have put the petition on the electronic system so interested parties could comment, Albert said. The commission ruling may have policy effects, and CompTel would have commented if it had been given the chance, she said.