AT&T wants reform plan reviewed

Broadcasting and Cable reports.

AT&T is suing over the inter-carrier compensation reform portion that makes it explicit that cable operator's voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) traffic should get equal footing with other phone service when it comes to compensation for exchanging and terminating traffic.

According to Multichannel News, AT&T argues that there is a lot more involved in terminating circuit-switched service than interconnected VOIP, which is why it says the compensation should not be the same.

The FCC voted 4:0 in October to accept chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal to revamp the subsidy, which supports phone connections in regions where it's expensive to supply service, Businessweek states.

Replacing the programme for phones with the so-called Connect America Fund for broadband is part of Genachowski's effort to spur economic growth by increasing the availability of high-speed Internet services.

NTCA claims that the proposed reform could jeopardise rural service providers from being able to raise necessary capital to build out new networks to support higher speed broadband services to their respective customer bases, Fierce Telecom says.