FCC Notches Win in Business Data Services

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals handed a victory to the Federal Communications Commission when it refused to block the agency's regulatory changes to the business data services market from taking effect. The commission voted in April to relax regulations in the $45 billion market, finding that there was strong evidence of competition for the services, which provide connections for ATMs, hospitals and other institutions for high-volume data transmissions.

Sprint and several other organizations filed suit. Trade group INCOMPAS and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, an organization of major firms that buy telecom services, along with several others, asked the appeals court to stop the changes from taking effect. The court denied the request, along with a request from Sprint to transfer the case to DC.