Verizon Pricing Petition Gets Second Chance

A federal appeals court has asked the Federal Communications Commission to redo its 2007 decision denying Verizon Communications Inc. the ability to raise wholesale prices for rival phone companies in six East Coast markets. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has been sitting on Verizon's appeal of the FCC decision for nearly a year and a half. Verizon was seeking a rule change in six East Coast markets: Boston; New York City; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Providence, R.I.; and Virginia Beach, Va. "The court's decision confirms that the FCC applied the wrong standard," said Verizon Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Michael Glover. Verizon argued to the court that the FCC didn't take into account the full slate of its competitors when it denied the petition.