FCC Looks to Regulate Middle-mile Connections

The Federal Communications Commission will look into new regulations of middle-mile broadband connections used by many businesses and owned largely by AT&T and Verizon Communications, the agency said. On June 4, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a proposal to reform the rates of so-called special access services, the large-pipe connections used by businesses and mobile carriers to connect to the Internet. Verizon and AT&T, which control by some estimates 80 percent of special access services in the U.S., have disputed the need for new regulations by saying the special access market is increasingly competitive. But several groups, including Sprint Nextel, Public Knowledge and XO Communications, have long complained that AT&T and Verizon are charging too much.