FCC Had Easier Options to Fix Access Rate Issues, Aureon Tells DC Circuit

The tariff rates the FCC ​​set for Aureon Network Services in its rate dispute with AT&T are a form of rate regulation "not found anywhere within the Communications Act or the FCC’s legislative rules," upending the law's goals of "predictability, stability, and balanced interests." That's according to petitioner Aureon in an opening brief Friday (docket 18-1258, in Pacer) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Aureon and AT&T are challenging the FCC's 2019 order eliminating access arbitrage (see 1909300023). The FCC had a much simpler option of setting rates that covered Aureon's regulated costs and earning the agency-prescribed rate of return, and the agency never explained why rate-of-return regulation wasn't sufficient by itself, the brief said. The FCC didn't comment.