Facts not Fiat

AT&T filed its response to a July 27 Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) issued by the Federal Communications Commission for alleged violations of the lowest corresponding price (LCP) requirements of the E-rate program. These rules say that in order to participate in the E-rate program, a carrier must charge a participating school, library or consortium no higher than the lowest price that it charges to any similarly situated non-residential customer for similar services. To be clear, AT&T wholeheartedly supports the E-rate goals of providing schools and libraries with affordable broadband and telecommunications services. The FCC’s arguments, however, that AT&T applied the LCP rule incorrectly are factually wrong, they deviate from the FCC’s own rules and existing precedent, and they continue the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s troubling pattern of “rulemaking through enforcement.” The facts of the case aptly demonstrate that no actual FCC rules were violated.