Washington Post: Court Appears Critical of FCC Rule

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia appears likely to overturn the ruling last year by the FCC that gave state public utility commissions broad authority to regulate local telephone competition, according to The Washington Post. At a hearing this week, the judge overseeing the case appeared hostile to the FCC position, saying that its decision to hand-off its policy making responsibilities to the states appears to flout the intent of Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The judge reportedly was more sympathetic to the views Verizon Communications and other ILECs that a national policy is needed. http://www.washingtonpost.com