FCC Likely to Cut Back on Phone Data

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve a request from AT&T to allow the company to stop filing yearly reports on service quality, customer satisfaction and infrastructure investment. Similar requests by Verizon and Qwest are also expected to be approved soon. The FCC will open up a related notice of proposed rulemaking that looks at how to improve the collection of data on complaints and other issues from phone companies, including wireless and Internet phone providers. The decision highlights a broader issue at the FCC, where data collection from phone and cable companies hasn't kept up with changes in the marketplace, as more consumers have switched to wireless and Internet phone services. Earlier this year, the agency revamped the information it collects from broadband providers and increased its definition of high-speed broadband to speeds of 768 kilobits per second or higher -- which is at the low end of what many consumers get from local cable or phone companies. A majority of the FCC's five commissioners, including Chairman Kevin Martin, agree it is time to stop requiring the reports and overhaul the reporting rules instead, according to people familiar with their thinking.