AT&T Delays Fee Change on Dedicated Access Lines Amid Complaints

AT&T is postponing an effective price increase on some of its dedicated data and voice lines after the move was met with strong opposition from customers and competitors who buy the service.

AT&T announced earlier this month it would no longer offer extended contracts, and the discounts that come with it, for older types of high-capacity network connections for businesses known as "special access lines." Sprint and other telecommunications companies that buy the connections claimed the move was anticompetitive and complained to the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T and Verizon Communications control 80% of the special access market, Sprint and other rivals say. The connections are used mostly by businesses that need dedicated network connections for such purposes as hooking up ATMs or connecting field offices to a company headquarters. Wireless carriers use them to connect cell towers to the broader network, and the connections are also bought by AT&T's competitors and resold to businesses. On Oct 25, AT&T sent a letter to business customers saying it will postpone the changes for 30 days in order to "address questions and concerns that customers have raised."

AT&T must notify the FCC of any changes to its special access lines.