BellSouth Corp. and the other big local U.S. telephone carriers Friday won a decision barring states from requiring them to offer stand-alone high-speed Internet service to customers who buy voice service from a competitor.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, by a vote of 3-2, approved BellSouth's request to preempt states from imposing such a requirement, stating that it violates federal communications laws and regulations.
Atlanta-based BellSouth said state regulators in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana had forced the company to offer stand-alone digital subscriber line service, or DSL.
BellSouth had about 8,000 customers who subscribed to its DSL service and bought voice service from a competitor that leased a BellSouth line. The decision was one of the last under FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who left the agency last week.
"The ruling helps provide the regulatory assurance necessary to justify the levels of investment required to support the high-speed networks and services of tomorrow," Jonathan Banks, BellSouth vice president, executive and federal regulatory affairs, said in a statement.
Among the big four local phone carriers, only the smallest, Qwest Communications International Inc., willingly offers stand-alone DSL and now has roughly 25,000 customers.
Verizon Communications, the biggest local carrier, has said it plans to offer DSL separately sometime later this year. Typically, companies give a price break to those customers who order multiple communications services.
The two Democrat FCC commissioners dissented from the decision, arguing that the agency was sanctioning tying of services, which could hurt competition and consumers.
"The commission unwisely flashes the green light for broadband tying arrangements," Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps said in a joint statement. "Because we believe this is an area where the commission should proceed with caution, we cannot support the outcome."
The FCC did agree to seek public comment on what impact, if any, tying new services with existing ones would have on competition.
