Federal regulators late Thursday night freed AT&T Inc. from pricing restrictions that govern what it can charge competitors and businesses for access to certain high-speed Internet lines.
Under the Federal Communications Commission’s order, AT&T would also not have to report the terms and conditions for its services.
AT&T had sought relief from government imposed rules because it said that sufficient competition existed in the high-speed Internet, or broadband, market and therefore such price caps weren’t needed anymore.
AT&T’s competitors, including Sprint Nextel Corp. and XO Holdings Inc., have vigorously lobbied federal regulators and policy makers to oppose such relief because they said competition would suffer in the broadband market.
The FCC, which had until midnight Thursday to make a decision, voted 3-2 for AT&T’s petition, which was originally filed July 13, 2006.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in a statement that removing “overly burdensome regulations” will enable AT&T to invest and deploy more broadband services.
But the agency’s two Democrats disagreed with the decision, saying the evidence to grant relief was “altogether underwhelming.” They added granting relief could lessen competition in certain areas.
