Delay of telecom vote urged
Nearly 75 members of Congress are urging the head of the Federal Communications Commission to delay next week’s vote on a proposal to overhaul key pieces of telecommunications regulation, arguing that the matter should get public review.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin wants to significantly reorder the complicated menu of fees that phone companies pay to connect calls with one another’s networks. He advocates more uniform, lower rates.
The proposed changes are backed by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T; Inc. But the plan faces opposition from a coalition of competing carriers and rural phone companies, which fear it could erode the money they get for completing their subscribers’ calls.
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