CompSouth complained about AT&T’s changes to terms and...

CompSouth complained about AT&T’s changes to terms and conditions of its special access tariffs in a filing before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. “CompSouth submits that these 20% to 30% increases in the price of A&T’s special access services are unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, and anti-competitive and that AT&T’s announced intention to discontinue offering these services to competitive carriers is unreasonable, discriminatory, and anti-competitive,” the group of CLECs said in its filing (http://1.usa.gov/KoOZo4). CompSouth asked the Tennessee regulators to consider the legality of AT&T’s tariff amendments and whether they are necessary for a transition to IP services, as AT&T has contended. “CompSouth’s complaint in Tennessee against AT&T’s anti-competitive proposal to eliminate long-term special access discount plans raises a number of important questions that AT&T must answer,” Karen Reidy, Comptel vice president-regulatory affairs, told us in a statement. “In addition to pointing out the harmful impact of AT&T’s unilateral, unjustified, price increase for these services, which impacts consumers’ ability to obtain competitive robust, innovative and high-quality services, CompSouth effectively challenges AT&T claims that it is not feasible to offer these services after it transitions to IP and calls on AT&T to explain how it will provide alternative wholesale offerings to competitors.” “We continue to meet with our customers in a good-faith effort to address their needs,” an AT&T spokeswoman told us. “As the transition to more robust and efficient Internet-based network and services moves forward, we will remain flexible in attempting to meet their needs."