Sprint says ILEC control over special access cost US economy $150 billion over five years

Charles McKee, VP of government affairs for federal and state regulatory at Sprint, said that incumbent local exchange carriers' (ILEC) control over special access connections has "cost our economy $150 billion in the last five years alone" in a statement supporting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler's technology-neutral proposal.

Sprint, which purchases special access circuits from wireline operators like AT&T and Verizon to backhaul its wireless traffic, said that implementing the suggested new framework for business data services will bring a long-awaited end to monopoly control over the market and will usher in a new era of competition. "The Chairman's recommendation today moves to end that enormous drag on our economy, ushering in a new framework supported by rules that look forward not backward, towards competition and away from market failure and artificial technology or legal distinctions," McKee said. "Sprint looks forward to working with the Commission as it moves to adopt a competitive, sustainable framework consistent with these principles by the end of this year."