US Federal Communications Commission Suspends Special Access Pricing Flexibility Rules

The Federal Communications Commission recently adopted an order suspending "on an interim basis" its special access pricing flexibility rules.¹ The Order states that parties adversely affected by the suspension may seek relief through the forbearance process, and the Commission promised to issue a mandatory data request within 60 days, which will help it subsequently conduct a detailed market analysis of the special access market. The two Republican Commissioners, Robert McDowell and Ajit Pai, dissented.

The actions taken in the Order are unlikely to have any immediate effect on special access prices. However, the analytic framework articulated in the order suggests that it may take significant time for the Commission to adopt permanent replacement rules, and that these replacement rules are likely to be significantly more complex and administratively burdensome than the suspended rules.